The Disbanded: Divided We Stand
by MyNameIsCAL
Summary: Max and the others fail to rescue Angel and Nudge from Itex, tension splits them apart. Listen as each of the remaining members tell their own story. But soon they'll have to take one last stand together. FAX in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand**

By MyNameIsCAB

There was a time when the flock and I were all together, happily a somewhat dysfunctional family. But things changed, and we split apart.

But you remember me, don't you? I'm Maximum Ride. Max for short, as you remember.

But I still have a story to be told, and like my other stories, it has to with saving the world, so it's in your best interest to sit back and listen to what I have to say.

But I guess I have to start from the beginning, or at least where the flock all went its separate ways.

Two years ago, I had let my guard down. I had fallen asleep when I was on guard as we slept in some trees. The erasers took that chance and nabbed Angel and Nudge before any of the others could wake up and get their bearings in the dark. It was tragic and the rest of us were angry at ourselves, and maybe perhaps each other.

And we had a chance to get Angel and Nudge back. So we snuck into Itex's new facility and found Angel and Nudge. We were about to get out of there when we were spotted. I don't know how because Fang and I worked everything out so damn perfectly.

Erasers grabbed all of us. They had guns, and now we were powerless as they held them to Angel and Nudge's heads. I watched in pain as Fang tried to get away and they shot him. It was horrible. Those goddamn erasers shot Fang in the knee. And they did it two more times to other parts in the leg. He fell to the floor limp and his eraser stepped over him and in front of me.

"Well, Max. You have two options," the eraser growled. "You can leave without Angel and Nudge or we can make you leave by force."

With that, the eraser cocked his gun and pointed it at Fang. "We'll kill him if you don't leave."

_Max, just go. Nudge and I will be A-Okay._ That was Angel, getting into my head, trying to tell me to just leave her there, but I wasn't and the eraser kept his word, he shot Fang again in the chest.

_Fang needs help. Max, please go and just forget about us. _I wasn't leaving Angel and Nudge behind, but their eyes pleaded with me and Fang was bleeding all over the floor. I was being ripped in half.

"Make a choice!" the eraser growled, his gun still pointed at Fang. "I'll shoot him again."

I grabbed Fang with Iggy's help and I gave one last look at Angel and Nudge before the eraser led us outside and closed the door behind us. That was the last time I saw Angel and Nudge. Whether they're alive or not, I wish I knew.

So we brought Fang to a hospital. He went into surgery for five long hours and the damage was heavy. It was most likely he would never regain use of his right leg. The bullet to his chest had hit his lung, but at least that looked like it would heal eventually.

I sat in the hotel room, watching Fang, a mask over his mouth and nose to assist his breathing. He was sedated so he wouldn't have to deal with the pain. It hurt me a lot more to watch him. But it was also going to hurt a lot more to walk away.

"Max, we have to go get my sister!" Gazzy protested, walking into the room with Iggy.

"Going back to that place is suicide," I told him.

Gazzy glared at me. "You're just going to let them keep Angel and Nudge!?"

No, I wasn't, but I no longer had a plan.

"Forget it Max, I'm going to find them," Gazzy started towards the door. "And don't bother to come after me. I don't want or need your help."

"Gazzy!" I stood up and walked over to him but he pushed me away and ran down the halls, barely missing a nurse, and he burst through the doors and I'm pretty sure he took off right there, into the sky. So that was the last time I saw Gazzy. Some goodbye that was.

Iggy stood there, looking helpless. His pale blue eyes looked more unfocused than they have in years. He felt his way to the couch and sat down. "Max, we're going after him, right?"

"Yea…but Fang…" It was time to think of a plan, but I came up short and Iggy left in anger like Gazzy. He was tired of being told what to do and so where he went I don't know. Maybe he went after Gazzy. I guess I wouldn't know because it seemed like all the people I cared about managed to vanish all in one day.

But that left Fang. My poor little Fang. He was in so much pain when he finally woke up and even morphine was helping.

"Where is every one?" Fang asked, taking the mask off.

I sat on the edge of his hospital bed. "They left. Gone. Abandoned us."

Fang put the mask back on and closed his eyes. After a moment, he pulled it back off and spoke to me. "Gone?"

"They stormed off mad. Gazzy went back to go after his sister and I guess Iggy followed him," I explained.

"Why didn't you go after them?" Fang asked hoarsely.

"Because I wasn't leaving you. We can't protect Nudge and Angel because the erasers already have them. Gazzy and Iggy don't understand that. You're the next target for Itex because you're weak. You need to be protected." That was the truth.

Fang looked up at me, our eyes meeting for one final time. "Go after them."

And I did. I looked for Gazzy and Iggy and when I returned, Fang was gone and none of the nurses or doctors would give me where he had left to. Fang had covered his path by telling them to tell no one. Not even me.

And after months of searching, it was time to let go. I couldn't find any of them. Not even the news had a story about a flying kid anymore. Everyone was worked up over the presidential candidates. And that left me nowhere.

But today. No, these days, I've still be searching. But you know, the government also found me and made me a deal to protect me if I helped them. They wanted me to go into a special government unit that specialized in busting drug dealers and organized crime.

And I guess loneliness got the best of me because here I sit in the base for this government operation, still hoping I might find the others.

And maybe I will because the captain just granted me access to the government computers and maybe I could find them.

Just maybe.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 2**

By MyNameIsCAB

--Fang's POV--

It's hard to think about the last time I saw Max. It hurts a lot, emotionally. The doctor's say that I'll get better as long as I take my meds, but it only feels like it's getting worse. I guess that's how depression is supposed to feel.

Where am I now, you ask. Well, nowhere really. I don't have a place to stay and the only money I have was what Max left in that backpack in the hospital. It's just enough to pay for my medication.

I've spent these past two years around a small town. It's where the doctor's in that hospital sent me for rehabilitation. It's in Massachusetts, a couple hours away from Boston…You know, Fenway Park.

The people are nice. I've gotten to know them. Or maybe they just pity me because I'm stuck in a wheelchair. Maybe because I'm a crippled and hopeless angry teenager that will never walk again. Hell, I might never get to fly again except in an airplane.

"Hello, Nick," Dr. Guerra smilee as I wheel myself in to his office.

"Hi, Doc," I try to smile, but I doubt it came out right.

The doctor sat in his chair across the desk from me, holding up an x-ray of my leg. It doesn't look any better than before.

"So…" I said.

"Well, it looks a little better. I don't know what kind of bullets those are, but they definitely did a lot of damage," Dr. Guerra told me.

I wondered that too. Usually healing wasn't a problem, well, until now. I bet you Itex specially designed those damn bullets to make the person who got shot take forever to heal.

"Don't lie to me doctor," I finally sighed. "It doesn't look any different from a month ago."

He frowned. I was right after all, then. It took a while for him to speak. "Yea, it's not looking good, Nick."

Nick was my name. No one would take me seriously if I called myself Fang all the time.

"So what then?" I questioned.

The doctor shook his head. "There's not much we can do. Unless you want to do reconstructive surgery."

"I can't afford that and you can't reconstruct my bones because of what I am," I tell him, referring to the part of me that was avian.

"Yea, that's the problem, I guess then," the doctor nodded. "I'm sorry, Nick."

Part of me wanted to be angry. I wanted to throw myself out of my wheelchair and onto Guerra's desk and scream and shout that he needed to do something and had to stop being sorry for me. But that wouldn't do anything, so I sighed and said nothing.

"But we can still be hopeful," the doctor tried to say with reassurance. "Here's your prescription for you depression medication and pain meds. I'll see you later."

"Later, for what?" I was finally losing it. "Rehab isn't going to do anything for me if I won't ever be able to walk, Doctor. If I can save money, then I'm cutting rehab."

The doctor scratched his chin. "I guess you're right Nick."

"The only thing that you can help me with is my prescriptions for my meds and my depression," I pressed on.

"What about therapy, Nick?" he asked. "You can still come for group discussions and private sessions with me. You're going to need that to get out of your depression."

Perhaps I needed those things, but I wasn't showing up for physical therapy anymore. It was a waste of money because we weren't getting anywhere.

"Nick, come in for free. I won't charge you anymore," Dr. Guerra pleaded. "Where are you going to go?"

He was right. All I had was this rehab facility and a small town. I didn't even have my own place to stay. I ended up sleeping at the bus station or if I was lucky, inside the rehab facility or Dr. Guerra's office.

"At least, if anything let me help you with your depression, Nick," the doctor seemed to be repeating himself now. "Winter is coming, the worst season for depression. I'll let you stay with me."

"Okay, fine," I agreed.

Dr. Guerra stood and opened the door for me. "Thank you."

"For what?" I said.

"Because I've watched a lot of people like you go and leave and end up killing themselves, Nick," Dr. Guerra sighed. "And you remind me of my son…He committed suicide and that's the only reason I'm here."

"But I don't have family, why do you care so much about me?" I said, meeting his gaze.

"Because, I just do."

I nodded and wheeled out.

"Nick, promise me I'll see you at my house tonight," Dr. Guerra said.

I looked up at him. "I promise."

* * *

So I did show up at his house around 5PM. He ordered some pizza and showed me the guest room. Maybe it was the house or his hospitality that made me wish that I was back with the rest of the flock. And so as I got into bed, I cried some wishing Max was here to comfort me.


	3. Chapter 3

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 3**

By MyNameIsCAB

--Max's POV--

"Max, you have to finish those reports by tomorrow," Captain Ramirez told me.

"Yea, I know Captain," I sighed. "They'll be on your desk in the morning."

He smiled. "Like always."

I nodded. "Sure, like always."

"Well, lock the doors before you go home," he said, throwing me the keys. "I trust you now."

I smiled at the captain and watched him leave before I went onto the database that had the information of every single US citizen. I knew Fang wasn't going to come up so first, I typed in Nick.

But of course, there was millions and millions of Nicks in the entire US. Even Nick Markakis was on there, Baltimore Orioles' outfielder that Fang talked about every once in a while. I wondered if Fang was still following baseball.

After three hours of looking at Nicks at the age of 17, I gave up. It was going to be impossible to find the Nick I wanted. I didn't even know if that was the name Fang was really using. He probably chose a different name. I guess I was hopeless.

So I finished my report and put it on the captain's desk before heading to my apartment. I crawled into bed, thinking about where my Fang could be.

* * *

My pager woke me up around five in the morning. I had only managed to get five hours of sleep, which was pretty normal for me these days. Captain Ramirez must have found where Dan "D-Man" Johnson was. He was one of our most wanted drug dealers around the Massachusetts area.

I arrived at our headquarters a few minutes later and Ramirez was briefing the team.

"Hey."

That was Ted Messina. Messina as everyone called him on the team. He was seventeen, the youngest on the team after me, only a year older.

"Hey, Ted," I smiled. Depending on my mood was what I called him. Sometimes it was random.

I liked Ted a lot. He was quiet and reminded me a lot of Fang, but he could never be the guy Fang was. Fang was the guy I had fallen in love with, the guy I madly wanted and needed to find.

"So he found Johnson?" I asked.

"Yep," he nodded. "He's just in a town a couple hours from Boston."

"All right, cool," I said, realizing what I said was probably sounded so stupid.

Messina nodded, and looked up at the map Captain Ramirez was pointing at.

* * *

We drove quietly into the town, towards an abandoned warehouse that was next to some kind of rehabilitation center that was part of a hospital. We were supposed to do our job under the radar. It wasn't supposed to be big like headline news for tomorrow's papers.

"Messina, pull over to the side there," Chuck said. He was our navigator and spent most of the time in our truck checking out the schematics of buildings and how to get in and out safely. Rarely would you see him out in the field with a gun.

"Okay," Messina cruised the car over to the side of the building. There were lights on inside. "Looks like D-Man is here."

"Let's go," I whispered.

Messina turned the engine off and handed the keys to Chuck.

"Hey, come back in one piece, kid," Chuck said with his heavy New York accent. "And you too Max."

Chuck always said that to us. Messina and I usually just smiled.

"Okay, enter through the door straight ahead," Chuck told us and the rest of the team.

"We ain't gonna go through the ceiling?" Carter joked.

"No, Carter," Chuck frowned.

"Yeah, Carter, shut up!" Will chimed in.

"Enough!" Barry was always fed up with Carter and Will. They were always arguing. I wondered if the captain would ever accept Chuck's request to have the assigned to different units.

"Let's go," I repeated.

Messina, the good listener, always followed me. It was funny how we were the youngest, yet the captain had put us in charge. Eventually, the others quieted down and we headed towards the door, our guns at the ready and our bullet proof vests snug around us.

"On my go," Messina whispered, winking at me. He used his fingers to count down and then uttered, "Go."

Will bust the door open, and he scanned the area. D-Man was piling bags of drugs into his car.

"Stay away!" D-Man shouted, pointed his gun at Will.

Messina and I moved in and we opened fire, getting D-Man in the leg. His gun fell out of his hands and slid across the floor and out of reach.

"Cuff him," Messina ordered Barry.

I moved in on the car, checking to make sure it wasn't wired with a bomb or anything.

"Shit..." There was a bomb planted, counting down to from thirty seconds. "Ted! BOMB!"

"Get outta here!" Messina shouted, running towards the door. I could here Chuck ask what was going on in my earpiece, but I didn't answer. I helped Barry drag D-Man out the door just as the building exploded.

"Everyone, check in!" I heard Messina scream.

"Barry here," Barry muttered into his com.

"Yea, Ted, I'm fine," I said next.

Will checked in, but I didn't hear anything from Carter.

"Where's Carter?" I heard Chuck ask through my ear piece.

Messina got to his feet and looked around. "Carter, do you copy?"

There was no response.

"There's no signal from his com," Chuck buzzed in our ears.

"MAX!"

I turned around, Carter staggered out of the blaze.

"Ted, call in back up!" I shouted, running over to Carter. "We gotta get him to the hospital."

"Max…" Carter let out another breath and then collapsed into my arms.

* * *

Carter was taken to the hospital. The rest of us loaded D-Man into the back of a truck that would take him back to headquarters for questioning and then his prosecution would happen.

"Captain Ramirez needs Will, Barry, and Chuck back at headquarters ASAP," Messina informed us as we stood around the back of our truck. "Max and I are on damage control. We've got to keep this whole thing on the down low."

"Why do you two get to stay?" Will protested.

"Because that's what the captain said," Messina snapped. "Now get into the truck and get out of here. It won't look good if D-Man Johnson gets to headquarters before you."

Chuck got into the drivers seat, gave a half hearted salute to me with a smile, and drove off as soon as Will and Barry closed the doors. I watched the car fade into the distance.

"Come on, we gotta go to the hospital," Messina said.

I nodded, and followed him to a car that was waiting for us.


	4. Chapter 4

**The Disbanded-Divided We Stand**

By MyNameIsCAB

--Fang's POV--

"What the hell is that?" I heard Guerra run down the hall and past my room.

I rolled over and looked at the clock, it was almost seven in the morning. Some kind of explosion had just happened. It sounded like it was coming from the abandoned warehouse near the hospital and the rehab center.

It was always a struggle, to get into my wheelchair, but I managed to do it today. Wheeling into Guerra's sitting room, I saw him staring out the window.

"I gotta get over to the hospital," he said as his doctor's pager beeped. "They need help I guess."

Truthfully, I didn't know what to say to him.

"You should come other wise you'll get stuck here," the doctor said. "We're leaving in two minutes."

I nodded and headed back to my room, pulled on some clothes, and headed towards his garage. He opened the back door for me and then got into the driver's seat, waiting for me to get in. Getting into cars, I was a master at. I pulled myself in, closed up the wheelchair, pulled that in, and closed the door. We were out of the garage a few seconds later, speeding down the street.

* * *

We arrived at the hospital a short three minutes later. Guerra parked in his reserved space and started running towards the hospital.

"Go to the rehab center or my office. Don't forget you have group at ten!" he shouted.

I would have responded, but he was inside and out of range to hear, so I closed my mouth and closed his car door behind me.

"Hey, Nick." That was Bob, the security guard. He was actually really nice to me. I guess Guerra wasn't the only one who took a liking to me.

"Good morning, Bob," I replied.

"I heard Guerra is giving you a place to stay," Bob said, eating his morning bagel.

"Yea, he did," I nodded.

Bob shrugged. "There was some kind of explosion at the warehouse. Some government agent got burned or something and they have to operate. Guerra is needed for the surgery or something."

"Wow, I wonder what government agents are doing here," I sighed.

He shrugged again. "Who knows? We'll hear sooner or later."

I nodded and wheeled towards the waiting room for the operating rooms. Curiosity would get the best of me sooner or later, so I was going to figure out what exactly was going on.

"Hello, Nick."

Why did everyone seem to know who I was in this place? I turned around to face Nurse Jenkins.

"Oh, good morning," I sighed. "Did Guerra start his surgery yet?"

"Yes, I believe so," the nurse nodded. Nurse Jenkins was one of the older nurses, and a lot of the hospital staff respected her. "So you're waiting to see what's going on, huh?"

"How'd you guess?" I gave a half smile.

"Look around. Not all these people are here waiting for someone. They're just waiting to see what's going to happen," the nurse explained. "I've been here long enough to know that."

Two people walked into the waiting room now, wearing bullet proof vests and had holstered weapons. They almost looked to young to be government agents, but their badges looked real.

"Hello," Nurse Jenkins approached them and began to talk in a low tone.

One of the agents looked so familiar. She reminded me of Max, and she had to be my age too. No…those aren't wings…No…That's Max!

I couldn't let her see me. Not like this. I looked pathetic. She suddenly looked over at me and I placed my hands on the wheels of my wheelchair and bolted out of there as fast as I could, down towards the rehabilitation ward.

* * *

--Max's POV--

I could have sworn that guy in the wheelchair looked like Fang. Maybe I was hallucinating. For the past week I had been thinking about him so much that maybe it was all getting to my head.

"Okay, thank you," Messina told the nurse. I hadn't heard a thing she said because I was still thinking about the guy in the wheelchair.

"Ted, can we sit?" I asked.

"Yea, sure," he nodded. "I'm going to have to call the captain though. The nurse said there's coffee down the hall in the rehab ward."

"Okay, maybe I'll get some," I nodded.

"Good because you look like you need it," he smiled.

"Thanks, Ted." I headed away from the waiting room, still wondering who that guy was.

* * *

**Please visit a website I made for all my fanfictions. I'll give you the latest updates about when the next chapters are coming and other news. You might find some interesting facts there. The link is on my profile.**


	5. Chapter 5

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 5**

By MyNameIsCAB

--Fang's POV--

I found myself dodging the agent that looked like Max, even though part of met just wanted to go up and see that it really wasn't her and that I was just trying to trick myself into believing I saw her.

But I think that there was another part of me wanting it to really be Max, so I started to spend more time around the hospital. It seemed those two agents, the Max look-a-like and the guy agent, were there until the agent that Guerra operated on family came.

"Well hello, there." It was the guy agent Max look-a-like was with.

"Hi," I muttered.

"I'm Ted, Ted Messina," the agent stuck out his hand.

"Nick Markakis…Not to be confused with the baseball player or anything," I shook Ted's hand, trying not to smile about what I had just said. I had taken the name, just to amuse myself.

"I never would have thought," Ted smiled.

"So you're a government agent," I said, looking at the badge that hung from his belt.

"Yea, I guess so," he nodded. "We're not FBI or anything, though."

"Well, at least you're doing something," I sighed, massaging my knee. "I'm so useless."

"You've got to be good at something," Ted offered.

"I used to," I told him. "But I've been around here for almost two years."

"So you're over in the rehab ward?" Ted asked.

"Yeah," I nodded. "My leg is all screwed up and it seems like I'm never going to walk again. They also say I suffer from depression."

We were in the cafeteria, which was empty except for a few doctors and nurses getting coffee.

"Don't give up so soon," Ted told me.

I shrugged. "I think I already have."

Ted took a seat next to me, putting his cup of coffee on the table. "The other agent with me. She's been looking for someone. I don't know much about him, but I know she's looking for someone. Someone like her that makes her and the guy she's looking for special. She hasn't given up."

"But why should I hope for the impossible?" I questioned.

"Why? Because the impossible happens sometimes," Ted continued. "It happened for me because someone told me not to give up."

"And what happened to you?" I was curious now.

"Me? My parents got divorced. I was unhappy. More than I'd ever admit. I hated my father too. It hurt me a lot, the divorce and I was getting hopeless about my life. But I had this friend, and she somehow completed that missing part that the divorce had made. She told me not to give up. In fact, we had so much in common."

"Really?"

"Yes, Nick, really. Her father was away often, even though her parents weren't divorced, she felt like she never say him and she didn't care much about him like I despised my own. Even having to spend every other weekend with my father was painful. You know, custody rules. And we started a friendship. We only opened up to each other and she was one of the only people that could make me smile for a while."

"So what happened to her?" I was ready to hear that she had died in some tragedy.

"She's still my friend. Finishing school. I'd be there with her now if the government hadn't recruited me," Ted finished.

For some reason, I had the urge to know Ted's friend's name. "What's her name?"

"Cal," Ted answered. "Cal Laughlin."

Somehow, his story actually seemed a little touching, and usually nothing got to me. Maybe it was because of my depression. It was wearing me down.

"So tell me what happened to you," Ted pressed on. "I told you mine."

I leaned back in my wheelchair, glad that it hid my wings from Ted. Perhaps I could make up some stupid story about how I had an abusive father that shot me.

"Nick?"

Looking around the cafeteria, no doctors or nurses were around. Using the table to steady myself, I stood with all my pressure on my right foot and unfurled my wings in front of Ted. I hadn't spread them out in what seemed like years. Few people knew about them in this town because the wheelchair had done a such a great job of disguising it.

"That's only the beginning," I told Ted as I tucked my wings back.

"Nick, I think you need to meet my friend," Ted said, his mouth wide open still.

"Who? Cal?" I asked, confused.

"No, the other agent with me," Ted replied and jumped up and started pushing me out of the cafeteria.

We ended up in an empty office that was used occasionally to get away from the rest of the world. I guess the doctors were letting Ted and the other agent (Max look-a-like) because there was a phone set up in here now.

"Wait here," Ted said. "She's not going to believe me. You gotta show her your wings."

"Most people are afraid of me when I do that," I said.

"No, you don't understand," Ted shook his head. "Just, when I open the door, open your wings up again."

I sighed as Ted rushed out the door. Maybe this was some kind of sick joke that Ted as playing on me to get a few laughs when he returned to wherever government base he came from.

I sat there, staring at the wall, waiting for Ted to come back.

He returned some five minutes later, opening the door.

"Ted, what do you want to show me?" an exasperated voice asked.

"Nick, come on, show us," Ted insisted.

I stood, using the table for support again, and unfurled my wings. My back was facing them, so I turned around. I didn't believe who I saw.

* * *

**I hope you liked it. Please review because I don't have that many. I've still got like the next few chapters written already, so I'll keep updating anyway. But please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 6**

By MyNameIsCAB

--Max's POV--

"Oh my God…" I was speechless.

The person standing in front of me was Fang. I couldn't believe it. Fang was right there in front of me.

"So, you know him?" Ted asked excitedly. "He's the guy you're looking for, right?"

I nodded, wondering if I should call Fang by Nick.

Fang was still standing there, his wings unfurled. I must have run forward because I was wrapping my arms around him now. After a moment, his arms slid around me.

"Max…" he squeezed me a little closer, I could feel him trying to not put his weight onto me.

I heard Ted slip out of the room and close the door behind. After another moment, I let him sit back in his wheelchair.

"Max, I can't believe you're here." It was nice to hear him say my name.

I sat down in the chair next to him. "I can't either."

We stared at each other in silence.

"So…I guess we got a lot of catching up to do," I sighed.

Fang gave one of his infamous half smiles. "Yeah, I guess we do."

* * *

Ted came in with dinner as Fang finished up telling me what happened. He had even brought food for Fang.

"You told Ted everything?" Fang asked.

"Yea, I figured I needed to tell someone and he seemed like the only choice," I joked. "But yes, he does know everything. The School, Jeb, the others in the flock…or what used to be the flock."

"So Nick, you're the one who disappeared from the hospital," Ted said as he started to eat fried noodles out of the box.

"Yea," I nodded. "And I'm sorry I disappeared Max, but I felt like I needed to get away from everything."

I nodded, accepting his apology. There was a small part of me that wanted to be mad at Fang, but finding him was probably the best thing that had happened to me over these past two years without him.

"Man it must have heart getting shot so many times," Ted continued.

"It still does," Fang frowned. "That reminds me, I gotta take my meds now."

I watched Fang pull out two pills and swallow both with his soda. He had told me what they were for, and it hurt to see he was still suffering after this long.

"And what are those for, Nick?" Ted questioned.

"My name isn't really Nick," Fang said. I guess he got the idea that I trusted Ted. "It's Fang."

"That's an interesting name," Ted commented.

I smiled at Fang and he sheepishly smiled back.

* * *

Being stuck around the hospital with Fang wasn't too bad. He disappeared for a couple of house to attend stuff for rehab, but it was nice to have him back. He did change a lot though. It seemed like a lot of stuff was wearing him down. His emotions were easily shown. It seemed harder to connect with him though, and I was starting to miss the old Fang.

"Ted, those are Carter's parents, right?" I asked as an older man and women, resembling Carter, walked into the waiting room.

"Yea, that's them," Messina nodded as he walked over to talk to them.

"So you're going to leave then, now?" Fang asked quietly.

I looked up at Fang, he looked so sad now.

"I don't know, Fang," I sighed.

He looked away and didn't say anything as we watched Messina show Carter's parents to his room. After a few minutes, Messina returned.

"So, what's the plan now?" I asked Messina.

"I don't know. We might get stuck here because Carter is a government agent. We're supposed to keep guard," Messina answered. "But I think the captain wants us back at headquarters to finish up the D-Man case."

Fang bent down and busied himself with fixing something on his wheelchair. I looked at Messina with disappointment before glancing back at Fang.

"And you're worried about him, aren't you?" Messina asked, sitting down on my opposite side.

I nodded. "I don't want to leave him here. Not after I've found him…Well you found him really."

Messina scratched his head and sighed. "He's in rehab though, right?"

"Actually," Fang said, "I can leave. There's nothing here that's going to help me. I'd be better off with you."

"Well, I don't see why we can't bring him with us. You have a place, Max. He can stay with you," Messina suggested. I think I liked that idea.

"Yea, but we're not going to be around all that often," I told Fang.

"I don't care," he said. "I think this entire place is getting to me. Getting out of here would be great. I'll talk to my doctor. He might protest, but he can't stop me from going."

And then Fang was off, wheeling down the hallway back towards the rehab ward. Messina watched him go.

"He's changed…Maybe too much for my liking," I stated.

"He probably went through a lot. I'm sure you have," Messina said. "He probably thinks you've changed too. Maybe you'll be able to get him back to normal."

Messina was right. I was going to have to piece Fang back together. He was falling apart. It was the one thing I kept missing whenever I looked into his eyes. Maybe it was because I just wanted so badly for the Fang I knew to be there, but now I understood what was going on. No matter how hard we tried, it was never going to go back to the same, just something like it.


	7. Chapter 7

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 7**

By MyNameIsCAB

--Iggy's POV--

I guess going after Gazzy didn't really work out because I never really found him. Being blind, I guess it was hard to search for things. But eventually, I ended up on the outskirts of Los Angeles, California.

I met this guy and I told him I was blind, and he accepted that pretty well. You see, this guy ran a circus that stayed here, just outside of Lose Angeles, and had hundreds of visitors every day. He offered me a job, to be the blind guy act, as long as I could do something amazing. In fact, he didn't even care about my wings.

I told him I could pick locks and fight pretty well. I guess that was good enough for him because before I knew it, he was paying me by how many shows I did. Usually, we had two guys come up on stage and try to beat me up. Most of the time, I'd let them get one or two punches in before I started to dodge their every move and scare them away with a couple of kicks. It wasn't the circus's or my intention to kill anyone.

I've been here for two years now. The money is good. Enough to get me a good meal when I went into the city on my days off. The owner, the guy I met, his name is Tom Barceló. He's sort of like the ringmaster too. He's also pretty much my only friend. Tom took on the circus after his father died of a heart attack. He was set to go to law school, but when his father died, the circus sent a calling and he gave up on being a lawyer.

The good thing was, Tom was young. Twenty-three to be exact. He was easy going and easy to talk to. Maybe Tom was the only one who understood me. I mean, I was the outcast out of all the performers. It was my wings that made everyone scared of me. But Tom accepted me for who I was, not what I was, and he earned his trust, so I told him everything that happened.

But I'm sure you figured that the flock pretty much fell apart because they're not part of my life, except for dreams and wishes. Angel and Nudge were captured by Itex and Max was too worried about _her poor little Fang_ to want to go after Itex and try to get them back after we already failed once.

Gazzy, you see, ran off after Max said that we had to stick around Fang in the hospital for a little while. In that time, Nudge and Angel could already be dead, and so there went Gazzy. I took his side and went after him, only never to find him and get confused before figuring I was in Los Angeles. It was more like _Lost_ Angeles for me. I was so confused until Tom found me.

The only thing Tom didn't know about me was my real name. I went my Jeff at the circus, and that's what everyone called me. I don't think anyone would take me seriously if I told them my name was Iggy. I missed being called that, but it wasn't macho enough to survive talking to the strong man whose name was Strongman John.

I just finished a show. My jaw hurts because that's where I let one of the guys punch me today before I socked him back. My trailer is a couple of yards away from my performing tent, and I think I can sense Tom waiting for me.

"He hit you pretty hard," Tom commented.

"Yea, I'm fine. Worse has happened to me," I said with a smile.

Tom opened my door for me. "Look, I was thinking of giving you a raise."

"Why?" I questioned. I mean, sure you're not supposed to question stuff like that, but I think Tom wanted me to ask.

"Because you want to find your friends, right?" he asked me.

"Yes, I do," I nodded, stepping inside my trailer.

"Maybe some extra money can help you find them or something. I mean, I'm willing to help you," Tom went on. "Every single person who works at my circus, I've helped in some kind of way."

"Really?" I said. I didn't know that and that was interesting.

"Yes, the strongman had an abusive father and he used to have the worst temper in the world, but I helped him get rid of the anger some other way and that was lifting weights," Tom gave me an example. I held up my hand so he wouldn't go and tell me about everyone from the fat lady to the maintenance crew.

"So you really want to help me find the others," I said.

"Yes, I'd like to meet them actually," Tom nodded. "I mean if you find them and you ever need anything, I'm open to helping all of you."

"Okay, thanks, Tom."

Tom said goodnight and closed the door. I wondered why there weren't enough good people in the world like him. If everyone was like Tom, we'd be a whole lot better off. There would be no Itex and no war and no global warming. I could just be some normal kid with a normal family with normal friends.

But maybe being normal is everything, Tom had told me once. And he's probably right. There's probably a reason that I'm here now, just like there's a reason for everything.


	8. Chapter 8

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 8**

By MyNameIsCAB

--Fang's POV--

Max showing up at the hospital had seemed like the best thing in years, but now her buddy Ted Messina was encouraging me to come with them. I didn't think this could get any better. Maybe I'm a little excited now. I thought Max would just leave me here because I was all broken up, but she's not.

"You want to leave?!" Dr. Guerra asked incredulously.

"Yes, I do. You don't understand. That agent is my long lost friend," I said slowly, trying not to get hyper.

"But…You should at least finish up this month's therapy," the doctor frowned.

"I'm sorry, Doc. You've been real nice and everything, but I need to go. You wouldn't understand. It has to do with what I am," I said, motioning to my wings. "It has to do with everything that's happened to me and if I don't go, I'm never going to get better."

The doctor looked skeptical now, but I was leaving, whether he liked it or not. A chance to fix my relationship with Max was the chance to fix my life. Dr. Guerra didn't understand because he didn't know my whole story. All he knew was that I'd been experimented on. But that's all he needed to know for now. I was leaving anyway, and he didn't need to know anymore.

"Call me if you have problems. You'll still use your cell phone, right? I'll have to contact you about your medication," the doctor started to write things down on a paper.

"Doc, I'll be fine," I promised. "You don't understand. But me leaving with Agent Max is the best thing you'll ever let me do."

I probably sounded really stupid, maybe over excited.

"Nick, be careful," he said. "You're always welcomed back."

"I know. Thank you Dr. Guerra," I said, calmer now.

He nodded. "Don't forget to take your meds. It's not good to stop taking them all of a sudden."

"I know, you told me all the side affects," I gave a half smile. "I know."

* * *

"You don't have anything to bring with you?" Ted asked.

"No, just whatever's in the back of my wheelchair," I sighed. "That's all I have. I go to the cleaners every couple of days and sit there."

Ted nodded and opened the back of the van. He opened up a ramp and gave me this huge smile. "If we ever have to sedate criminals, we can roll 'em up on a stretcher. But don't worry, you're no criminal."

I nodded. "Sure."

Amused, Ted laughed as I wheeled on and he rolled up the ramp behind me. I pulled myself out of my wheelchair and folded it up, securing it against the wall after I sat in one of the back seats which were comfier than my wheelchair.

"Max should be out in a few minutes. She's just got to make sure that Carter will be okay until we come pick him up some time in the next few weeks," Ted explained.

I nodded again, not really feel like saying anything to Ted right now.

* * *

--Max's POV--

I climbed in the back of our van to sit with Fang. He looked exhausted already, but he smiled as I sat next to him, so it made me feel better.

"Ready to go?" Messina asked.

"Yep," I said. "Did you radio Headquarters that we're leaving?"

"Just did," Messina answered, turning the van on.

The ride was going to be at least three hours, if we didn't hit traffic, but I knew we would. Messina would probably stop at a rest area to get food, like always when we were coming back from an assignment. At least it would be less food to pay for.

"Have any good food in a while?" Ted asked Fang.

"Not really. Hospital food is all and a steak last Christmas," Fang answered.

"How about we stop at that steakhouse on the corner before getting back to headquarters?" Messina asked.

"But the captain…"

"The captain can do without us. In fact, he told me the D-Man case is pretty much finished now. He told me to bring the van back to Headquarters and go home," Messina said.

"A steak actually sounds really good," Fang said quietly.

So I guess we were going to have steak then.

* * *

--Iggy's POV--

Like most nights, I laid awake listening to the maintenance crews finish up working. Sometimes you could hear the head them chatting over a couple of beers and cigarettes before bed.

I was thinking about the flock now. I guess I wished that we hadn't just all left like that. Somehow stupidity got the best of us and we only wanted to do what we thought was right, not the others.

You know, I thought about the same things every night and now I knew that I desperately wanted to find them now. I wondered if the others felt the same. I wondered if Fang and Max were still together. I wondered what happened to Gazzy and where Angel and Nudge ended up.

I guess I had a lot of unanswered questions.

And I guess I needed a lot of answers.\

* * *

**Please review!! Thanks for reading! Next chapter's comin' soon!**


	9. Chapter 9

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 9**

By MyNameIsCAB

--Fang's POV--

We got caught in traffic and we weren't going to make it to the steakhouse before it closed. Ted spent a half hour apologizing, and truthfully, it didn't bother me because I figured we'd just go there some other day.

"We can go tomorrow or something," Ted promised.

"Don't worry about it," I insisted.

Ted continued to apologize, but I started not paying attention to them. I glanced over at Max. Her head rested on my shoulder now. I smiled at her, even though she was asleep.

We pulled into their headquarters around midnight.

"Max…Wake up," I whispered.

She stirred after a moment. "Here already?"

"Yup," I nodded.

She opened the back doors and unfolded my wheelchair for me. I got into it and she wheeled it to her car. All of a sudden, I wished I could drive.

"Goodnight Max….Fang," Ted waved at us.

"Goodnight," I said.

"Goodnight," Max repeated as Ted got into his car.

Max drove through the drive thru at McDonald's and got us some food. Her apartment was only a few minutes away, so we saved the food until we got there.

"Umm…there's no elevator in my apartment. I live on the top floor. There are only three levels," she told me.

I sighed, leaning my head against the cold glass of the car window. "We'll figure out a way."

And of course, we did. I had to use her for support, but we made it up three flights of stairs. Then she went back to get my wheelchair and the food. We sat at her small kitchen table now, eating fries and hamburgers.

"So your leg's all messed up," she said through a mouthful of fries. "But what about your lung?"

I touched the device on my wrist. I had forgotten about it. It never crossed my mind, but it monitored my heart rate. If my heart rate got too high, I could risk injuring my lung. It was set to beep at 170 beats per minute. 200 beats and there would probably kill me, but it's never gotten that high because I've always been stuck in my wheelchair.

"I have this heart rate monitor thing," I explained to Max, pointing to my wrist. "Having my heart rate up to a certain level works my lungs too much and I could risk damage if it goes any higher than 200 I'm a dead man. It beeps around 170."

**A/N: Yea, I almost didn't put this thing in about Fang's heart rate, but I decided that this could play a big part in my fanfic for later in the story. So, for now, let's just say that since the flock is built for flying, like we're built for walking, that it doesn't affect his heart rate that much unless he is tired, sick, or hungry. We'll assume that his heart rate is also a little faster than a normal humans because birds have very fast heart rates. So please don't complain about this. Thanks.**

"Has it ever…"

"No," I cut Max off. "I've only heard it beep during physical therapy. I'm lucky. People who get shot like that usually never get to do anything physical anymore. I was lucky that I was shot far enough so the bullet wouldn't ricochet around my chest. In fact, I'm lucky that I'm not totally human or I wouldn't have healed well enough to even push myself around."

She finished her fries. "Guess you haven't done anything with too much strain."

"No, not since we were fighting against those erasers. My chest hurts when I get all worked up," I went on, finishing my food.

Max offered to let me sleep on the bed with her, so now she lay next to me, just inches away. I didn't realize how much I had missed her until now.

* * *

--Max's POV--

I woke up, Fang snoring softly next to me. Looking at the clock, it was almost ten in the morning. Today was Sunday. It was everyone's day off unless we were in the middle of an assignment, which we weren't.

My cell phone began to ring and I picked it up. "Hello?"

"Hey, Max." It was Messina.

"Hey, Messina," I yawned.

"So I was wondering if you and Fang wanted to have dinner tonight at the steakhouse. I just phoned in a reservation for three," said Messina.

"Sure, Fang would like that a lot," I agreed. "What time is the reservation?"

"Five," he answered. "I'll see you two then."

"Okay, great," I nodded, even though he couldn't see me.

I lay back down and Fang was awake now.

"Don't you have work?" he asked.

"No, today's Sunday. Captain Ramirez is Catholic," I told him.

"Oh," he said. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Sure," I said. I almost said, anything for you.

"Get my meds out of my backpack," he said.

I got out of bed and found the two canisters in the front pocket. After grabbing a glass of water from the kitchen, I headed back to the bedroom. Fang was now sitting up and he took the meds and water from me with a smile. "Thanks," he said.

"No problem," I smiled back.

* * *

--Gazzy's POV--

I've been watching Itex. For two years. Angel and Nudge are still alive. But the time to go in and save them isn't now. That's what Angel told me. Itex isn't doing anything to them. In fact, Itex is obsessed with eraser development, so Angel and Nudge were safe for now. Breaking in would send Itex after us, after the rest of the flock, according to Angel. So right now, I was just monitoring them, outside of the facility, in the trees and under the radar.

I wondered what happened to Iggy, Fang, and Max. They were probably looking for me. Or maybe, they forgot about me and thought I was dead along with Angel and Nudge. But they're wrong. Very wrong. We're alive and well for now.

For now.


	10. Chapter 10

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 10**

By MyNameIsCAB

--Max's POV--

"Max, really, we don't have to go shopping," Fang protested.

"Do you really think you can live with only three sets of clothes? If you're living with me, you're going to wear clean ones every day," I frowned at him.

He sighed and got into the car. I folded up his wheelchair and put it into the back seat. We were heading to the mall so he could buy some clothes.

"Maybe you oughta get some pants so you're not so cold. You know, winter's coming," I suggested. I noticed Fang was almost always in shorts.

"Shorts were cheap, Max," Fang said. "I couldn't afford much. I only had what you left in that backpack. Besides, they're more comfortable to wear."

"Yea, I was wondering how you were paying for your meds." That made sense now. I had forgotten about that money in all the confusion and anger I had. Somehow, I was glad I left that money.

* * *

We walked out of the mall with five bags of clothes. I had probably spent more on these clothes than what I would spend in a whole month on food. But that was only because most of the time, I ate with the team from headquarters and they never let me pay.

"So we're having dinner with Ted?" Fang questioned me.

"Yes, we are," I nodded. "But we gotta make one more stop before we go."

"Where?" asked Fang.

I sighed. "I gotta buy you formal clothes."

"Why didn't you buy it from that store in the mall?"

"Because where we're going, I get discount because Captain Ramirez's wife owns the store," I answered.

I put the bags in the trunk and helped Fang into the car. The store was only a minute away, and we were parking before Fang could even buckle his seat belt.

"Well hello, Max," Mrs. Ramirez smiled. "How can I help you?"

"I need a suit for him," I replied, pointing to Fang. "And I guess a tuxedo."

"A tux? Why?" Fang asked.

"Because, formal dinners and stuff for my work," I answered. "I get to bring a guest and now that you're here, you're that guest. It's tuxedos for those formal dinners and stuff."

"Then what's with the suit?" he said with a raised eyebrow.

"Why do you have to be so difficult? For the same reason, just if the occasion is less formal," I sighed.

"You really want to bring me?" Fang said, standing up so Mrs. Ramirez could measure the size for his tux and suit. "I look like an idiot in a wheelchair."

"No you don't," I told him.

He frowned.

"I'm serious, you don't." And I meant that.

It took a half hour, but we finally got Fang measured and found the perfect tux and suit for Fang. He actually looked really nice, I had to admit. Mrs. Ramirez packed up the suit and tux for us.

"Here, half price, that's your discount for today," Mrs. Ramirez said.

"Mrs. Ramirez, you shouldn't," I said.

"Ted was here earlier. He told me about your friend there. Half price, Max, don't argue," Mrs. Ramirez smiled.

I nodded, giving in and she took my credit card, swiping it. "Thanks."

We left the store, saying good bye to Mrs. Ramirez. Even Fang tried to put on a smile. Suddenly, my phone starting buzzing.

"Answer it," I handed it to Fang. "It's Messina."

I hung up the suit and Tux in the back seat of my car. Fang got in, still talking on the phone and I folded up his wheelchair once again. Getting into the driver's seat, I saw Fang hang up my phone.

"What did he want?" I asked.

Fang looked up at me. "Carter…He….Max, he died."

"What…No…." How could Carter die? The doctors told us he would be fine.

"Ted said that Carter got an infection and it got bad," Fang added. "I'm sorry."

I shook my head. "There's nothing you could have done. Let's go to dinner now."

Fang nodded. We rode in silence until we reached the steakhouse. I parked next to Messina's car.

"Max, are you okay?" Fang asked me.

I stared out the front of my car, wondering if I was okay. I probably wasn't, but I wasn't going to break down and cry right now.

"Max?"

"Yea, I'm fine," I said, but it felt like those words barely came out.

Someone knocked on my side window. It was Messina. "Hey, Max. You sure you still want to have dinner tonight?"

Messina looked like he had been crying. I rolled my window down. "Only if you want to."

He wiped his eyes and tried to smile. "I still owe Fang a steak. Come on, we have a reservation anyway."

I nodded and got out of the car, getting Fang's wheelchair, we went inside together.


	11. Chapter 11

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 11**

By MyNameIsCAB

--Max's POV--

Dinner was pretty much silent. No one said much. We ate in silence. Messina paid the bill, even with my protest and Fang's protest. That might have been the most talking we had done all night.

"Well, goodnight," Messina sighed. "We'll probably be wanted at headquarters tomorrow."

I nodded. Captain Ramirez would probably want to talk to the team. Losing Carter was going to be hard. Finding a replacement was going to be even harder.

* * *

As Messina had predicted, we were called to headquarters the next afternoon. Fang still lay asleep on my bed, so I left a note that I would be back soon. I was pretty sure Fang could get along without me for a couple of hours. After all, he did that for two years.

Arriving at Headquarters, Messina was waiting outside for me.

"I can't walk in there," he said. "I just can't."

"Then we'll do it together," I said. "We gotta go in there."

He nodded and hesitantly followed me inside. Barry, Chuck, and Will were all sitting in the briefing room. They had been waiting for us. Captain Ramirez said nothing as we sat down.

"So you all know why we're here," the captain sighed.

A couple of us nodded and so the captain pressed on.

"I have funeral information. There's a wake tonight at the local funeral home and then Carter will be cremated and the funeral will proceed at the beach," Ramirez spoke, his voice shaky now. "His family welcomes you to come. It's not a private funeral, so I guess you can bring who you'd like."

The captain was referring to the wives of Barry and Will. Their wives knew Carter's wife. They would probably attend both the wake and the funeral. Chuck would probably bring Kerry, his partner. I guess I forgot to mention Chuck is gay and none of us had anything against that. Messina would probably bring Cal. That left me the only one alone. I don't think Fang would be welcomed to either the wake or the funeral.

"That's it for now. Take a week off, all of you. Maybe even a couple weeks unless we uncover a good lead on one of the dealers we're tracking," the captain finished. "I'll see you later."

And he disappeared into his private office. We all busied ourselves by getting up and getting ready to leave.

"Max, you should bring Fang," Messina said as we walked to our cars.

"You think that would be okay?" I asked.

"Sure. Why not? You'll need him," he said. "I'll probably get Cal to come with me."

I guess I was right about Cal coming.

"Okay, I'll see you later," I said quietly, turning towards my car.

"Okay, bye."

* * *

Fang was sitting at my kitchen table when I got back. He was eating his leftovers, still looking exhausted. I wondered how bad his depression was. Maybe I had been lucky over the last week that he wasn't all depressing.

"So, how'd everything go?" he asked, pulling his leg off the other chair so I could sit and eat my own food. I realized he wasn't sitting in his wheelchair.

"Okay," I answered, not really wanting to go into detail.

He nodded, not saying anything more.

"How…How did you get to the table?" I said, looking over at his wheelchair which was still against the wall.

He looked up at me. "I walked."

I guess that made sense. But that must have been painful. As if reading my mind, he went on to explain. "It hurt, a lot. But I do it every once in a while. I ended up dragging myself halfway here."

"Oh, okay, then," I responded. "Maybe we oughta get you crutches or something."

Fang shrugged. "Stop worrying about me, I'll be fine."

* * *

We were driving to the wake now. The funeral home was only a few minutes away and I parked close, so we wouldn't have to go far. Messina was there, waiting with Cal. Even she looked sad. They walked over and Messina pulled Fang's wheelchair out of the car.

"Hey," Messina tried to smile, but it was strained and full of deep sadness.

I even tried to smile back, but it felt like the effort was useless.

"Hi, Max," Cal said quietly. We greeted each other like old friends with a friendly hug. Then it was off towards the funeral. I was going to push Fang, but he insisted on getting around himself.

Carter's wife, Mary, met us as we made our way to the coffin. As part of the team Carter worked on, we stood after the coffin, meeting the others who had come to attend the wake.

Looking at Carter, laying the coffin, he looked so peaceful. You know, I didn't want to cry there and so I held the tears back as his friends and family passed by and shook our hands. Even a couple higher ups from our part of government came.

I glanced over at Fang, who was sitting next to Cal in the sitting area, where Barry and Will's wives sat with Kerry who was quietly sat there. All of them looked sad. Even Fang who was now talking to Cal quietly.

But I think he was thinking how that could have easily been someone that he cared about in that coffin. Maybe that's what was really making him sad.

But the wake finished a few hours later. My legs hurt from standing, but then I reminded myself that Fang wouldn't have minded being able to stand if he could. Mary thanked all of us for coming and we all took turns hugging her. She finally broke down in tears when Chuck said how great Carter was to have on the team. Surprisingly, he comforted her.

Then we got outside and that's when the tears came out like rain. I could hear the others. Messina, right behind us, sobbing hysterically into Cal's shoulder.

"Max," Fang put a hand in my arm.

I leaned against my car, still crying. Fang suddenly rose out of his wheelchair and wrapped his arms around me.

"Max, you'll be okay," he whispered into my ear.

"No I won't," I sobbed.

"Max, you'll get through this…We'll get through this," he tried to assure me.

We must have stood there for a whole five minutes as I cried into his shoulder. He just held me and maybe that was all the comfort I needed now.

"I'm sorry I'm making you stand," I finally said once I wiped my eyes.

He shook his head, now leaning onto the car. "It's okay. Come on, let's go home."

I turned to see if Cal and Messina were still there. They were, Cal had finally calmed him down. She gave a small smile as a waved goodbye.

Somehow, I only knew that tomorrow would be harder.


	12. Chapter 12

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 12**

By MyNameIsCAB

--Iggy's POV--

Every Sunday, Tom closed the circus so everyone could have a day off. Most of the people never went anywhere because they had no family left. Like Tom had said, he had saved most of those people from broken homes.

But I always traveled into the city. Sometimes Tom would accompany me like today. We sat on a bus, into Los Angeles.

"So Jeff, Max, is her name right?" Tom always asked me about the flock. "Your leader, did you ever, like have a relationship with her?"

I almost laughed. Sure, I loved Max, but probably not the way Fang did. Max was more of a sister to me.

"No, she's more like a sister to me," I told Tom. "I think she had something going on with Fang."

"Oh, I see," Tom nodded like he understood everything.

But maybe he did.

* * *

--Max's POV--

The beach was beautiful, even though it was so cold that Fang had wrapped his jacket around me. Messina and I had carried him to where the funeral was going to take place since wheelchairs don't exactly roll in the sand.

"You sure you don't want me to get a chair?" Cal asked as Fang put his arm over my shoulder for support.

"Max?" Fang looked at me.

"No, the cars are parked so far away. Don't worry about it," I told Cal.

She nodded and we stood there watching the waves go in and out until the priest began to talk.

It was a short ceremony. I don't think Mary wanted to have a long one anyway. She seemed so miserable, like she just needed to get all of this over with.

Then, to everyone's surprise, the box of Carter's ashes was passed around and we all had a little bit, leaving a lot for Mary, and we stood at the water's edge, letting go of the ashes as they fell into the ocean and washed out to see.

"Goodbye, Carter," I heard Chuck mutter as Kerry let go of his handful.

I let go of mine, trying not to cry. As much as Carter could be a nuisance, he also completed our team. Watching Fang release his ashes, I felt a tear trickle down my cheek.

"It's okay Max," Fang whispered as he wiped my tears away.

Maybe it would be.

* * *

Messina and I struggled to get Fang back to the car. Fang now looked very embarrassed that we were going through all this trouble to carry him. In fact, Messina started laughing after a while, saying how ridiculous we all probably looked.

But at least we weren't crying anymore. Really, there wasn't much to cry about. Carter was gone and we couldn't bring him back. That was reality. It wasn't worth it moping around forever, wishing we could have done more.

"Here, you want to stop for a minute," Fang said.

"What? We're almost there," Messina said, pointing to the parking lot.

I realized Fang was breathing heavily. Looking at his heart rate monitor on his wrist, his pulse was almost to 160.

**A/N: Okay, I'm no scientist about heart rates or anything. So I'm sorry if I'm wrong, but it's a story, so don't all worked up if I'm wrong about what makes your heart beat fast.**

"Yea, let's stop, Ted," I agreed with Fang.

We sat down on the sand, not really caring whether our clothes got all sandy or not.

"Thanks," Fang whispered, looking at his monitor.

"What time is it?" Messina asked. "My watch is busted."

Fang glanced at me, hoping I would have a watch on, but I guess I didn't.

"Sorry, it's not a watch," Fang answered truthfully as he took in a deep breath of air. "Heart rate monitor."

We watched Fang's heart rate drop over the next few minutes until he was back at resting rate.

"So what are you monitoring for?" Messina asked as we lifted Fang back up.

"You know I got shot," Fang said to him. "Yea, the bullet punctured my lung. Supposedly, according to my doctor, if my heart rate gets up to 170, my lung is overworking. If my heart rate gets up to 200, I'm dead."

"That's tough," Messina commented.

"Yea, it doesn't beep often because I'm always stuck in that wheelchair," Fang nodded.

We reached our cars and Fang sat in the passenger seat. He looked tired now.

"Well, I'll see you guys around," Messina sighed.

"By, Ted," I said.

Then we were off, driving back to my apartment.

* * *

A couple days passed and the captain called us to headquarters. He said it would be a quick meeting, so Fang said he would just wait in the car because we were going to lunch after with Ted and Cal.

Captain Ramirez stood in front of us. Something told me what he was going to tell us was not going to be good.

"I have orders from our higher ups to disband this team," Captain Ramirez announced.

"What?!" Barry asked.

"We'll look for other places where your skills will do good, I promise," Ramirez said.

"So that's it?" Messina asked.

"I'm sorry, Messina, but our job is done here. This headquarters will become nothing more than storage for the military now. Make sure you clean everything out of your desks before you leave today," Ramirez answered.

"What jobs could you possible give us that's better than this?" Will asked.

"Other FBI, CIA, I don't know, I'll be in contact when an offering comes up," the captain replied.

Messina pulled off his badge and handed it to the captain.

"No, keep this. You guys are still part of the FBI," the captain insisted.

I watched Messina hold it out for a few more seconds before putting it in his pocket.

* * *

"So where are you going to go now?" Messina asked as he looked at a picture of Cal.

"I'm going after my other friends. The ones like me," I told him. "Now that I have time to find them."

"Well, if you ever need help, it looks like I have a lot of time on my hands now," Messina smiled.

"Thanks, Ted," I nodded. His help could actually be good. He and Cal were probably the only good humans I've ever really met.

I found a picture of me with the entire flock. It was from when we had found a camera and timed it so we could all take a picture in front of the rocky mountains when we were flying over Colorado. I smiled at the picture. Gazzy, Angel, and Nudge must have grown so much over these two years, if they were alive.

"Is that them?" Messina asked.

"Yea," I answered, softly. "I gotta find them."

"Hey, Messina. I need a word with you!" the captain called from his office.

I wondered what the captain could possible want from Messina. But I guess, that was none of business.


	13. Chapter 13

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 13**

By MyNameIsCAB

--Max's POV--

"What's that box for?" Fang asked I put the box full of stuff in the back seat.

"We got closed down," I answered.

"What?"

"That's what Ted said," I sighed.

I drove out of the parking lot once I saw Messina get in his car. We were meeting at the diner down the street. When we got there, Cal was waiting at a table for us already.

"What did Ramirez say to you?" I asked him.

"He asked me to go and be part of some special unit in California for the FBI," Messina responded. "But I turned it down."

"Why?" I questioned.

"Because working for the FBI isn't really for me anymore," Messina said as he held the door open so Fang could wheel in. "Besides, I'm gonna help you find your friends."

"Messina, you didn't have to do that for me," I insisted.

"No, I have this feeling that if I don't help you, I'm going to regret it," he explained. "It's my gut feeling."

"Okay, thanks," I said.

"And you know, I was thinking of getting Cal to marry me," he smiled now.

"That's great, Ted," I responded.

He nodded. "Yea. Thanks."

* * *

Cal was very sympathetic about our team being taken out of operation. I wasn't surprise though because she seemed like that kind of person.

"So you're that guy Max was looking for?" Cal asked Fang.

"Yes, I guess so," he answered, sipping his milkshake.

"So there's really more people like you?" Cal continued.

"Yes," Fang nodded. "We're going to find them."

"That's interesting," Cal added.

"Yea, I'm going to help them," Messina told her.

"Because you don't have a job." That was a statement. She knew how Messina thought.

Messina nodded. "Yea."

Cal was really enthusiastic about Messina helping us. When I first met Cal, she thought it was so cool that I could really fly. Messina was really a lucky guy to have Cal. But hey, I was lucky to have Fang back.

* * *

--Angel's POV--

It's very scary here in this Itex headquarters. It's like the school, only smaller, and we're not stuck in cages. Well, not for today at least.

Nudge has gotten quiet. She's not the chatterbox she used to be. We've lost track of time, but it's been too long and we've given up hope. Well, Gazzy is out there somewhere. But Itex has secured their borders up and now he won't be able to get in by himself.

I told him he needed to go find Max, Fang, and Iggy, who he claims they abandoned us, but I don't think Max would do that to us. After all, Itex has moved their location three times over the past month and she probably can't find us. Or maybe, she's searching for Gazzy first.

I don't really know what happened.

But Itex has forgotten about us. We get fed twice a day. The scientists are too busy with their new eraser breakthrough. The one breakthrough that supposedly will strengthen up the erasers and make them bigger…better…faster…stronger…you know, like that Kanye West song. That's what one of the scientists was thinking when he gave me food.

"Angel, do you think we'll ever be saved?" Nudge has asked me that for the fifth time today. Probably the one millionth time since we've been here.

"Yes, Max wouldn't leave us," I reassured Nudge.

"Have you heard from Gazzy?" Nudge said.

I shook my head.

* * *

--Gazzy's POV--

I've been sitting outside Itex's new location because they keep moving. You think it would be easier to stay in one place, right?

But anyway, I think it's time I start looking for Max, Fang, and Iggy. I can't bust into Itex myself, as strong as I think I am. I don't think I would make it out alive. I'd end up being another experiment gone wrong. Not that I haven't already.

I landed on top of the roof, searching for Angel to read my thoughts.

_Gazzy!_

_Hi Angel, _I thought.

_So where have you been?_

_Nowhere. Just hiding in the trees. I'm on the roof now. I think I'm going to go find Max and the others. _I told her.

_I was thinking that because how are you going to get us out without them._

_Yeah. I don't know where they are. Just hold on a little longer, okay? _I so badly wanted Angel and Nudge to be okay.

_Be careful. I love you Gazzy._

_I love you too, Angel_. And then I took off, thinking goodbye to Angel.


	14. Chapter 14

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 14**

By MyNameIsCAB

--Fang's POV--

I didn't know what Ted and Max were planning, but according to them, we were getting ready to go find the others. We had packed up a lot of stuff and put it into one of those vans that Ted had convinced the captain to let him "borrow". Ted even managed to get some weapons.

Max didn't have much in her apartment, which she was now selling. Just clothes really.

But the apartment was sold and we were sitting in the van. We were going. Where, well, I guess none of us knew. Well, we were going to pick up Cal who was on break from MIT, and then we were off on our adventure, as Cal had called it. She was very excited.

"Here," Max entered the van. "I got you crutches."

"Okay, thanks," I smiled at her, taking them.

"The doctor I talked to suggested forearm crutches after I explained your injuries," Max continued to talk as Ted started the car.

"Okay, thanks," I repeated.

She nodded, buckling her seatbelt. "I just thought in case we were ever on a beach again or something, it might easier. You know, maybe we'll get you walking like that."

I knew she was trying to be hopeful. For once in a long time, being with Max, I actually did feel hopeful. It was like me depression never existed. At least Max didn't know too much about my depression. She never knew about how I used to cut myself. That was a long time ago and Guerra had helped me out of that, so it never got bad, but you could still see the scars. I just hoped she wouldn't force me into a t-shirt anytime soon.

* * *

--Max's POV--

"Okay, so here's the plan," I started to explain to Fang. "We go get Cal from MIT and drive towards Chicago where Ted has a buddy that agreed to help us. His buddy runs an undercover operation that's trying to stop human experiments."

"So not only are we helping ourselves, we're helping all those other poor kids that Itex are probably getting experimented on in Itex," Messina added. I was surprised how much he had picked up from what I've told him.

"So Chicago. I spent a couple months there," Fang said. "Before I got to where you found me."

* * *

--Fang's POV--

Chicago was where I had been in such a low, angry at myself for not staying with Max and begging the doctors in the hospital in California to have me transferred out to somewhere else. So they sent me to Chicago and when I got released, I was at rock bottom mentally. That's where I started cutting.

But I knew I needed help and I met Dr. Guerra who was there on a meeting with some other doctors and he offered me help. He offered to get me to where he worked, where there was rehab for my physical and mental needs. So I went with him.

* * *

--Max's POV--

I wondered how Fang had gotten to Chicago, and then to outside of Boston. Obviously, he didn't fly because of his leg. That was the one thing he never told me. Now maybe there was a reason why. Maybe, when Messina wasn't around, I'd ask him about it.

"We're about an hour away from MIT," Messina announced, looking at the GPS navigation device. "We'll probably stop to pick up some lunch and I guess food for the road."

Once we got to MIT, Cal was waiting for us with two backpacks. I was surprised she didn't bring a whole suitcase.

"Ted told me to pack light," she said, climbing into the passenger seat next to Messina.

"Yea, we don't have much either," I nodded.

I watched Cal smile at Ted and they exchanged words that I couldn't make out. Now we were heading towards a convenient store down the street.

"So, you want to stay in the car or come?" I asked Fang once Messina parked.

He picked up one of the crutches. "I'll come. Let's see how I do."

I had half expected Fang to come tumbling out of the car. But he took a few steps, grimacing, and made it into the store. He checked his heart rate as I opened the door for him.

"Chips?" Messina asked. "What flavor?"

"Salt and vinegar," Fang and I both said at the same time.

"I guess some things don't change," Fang said with a half smile.

"No," I answered back with a grin.

Along with some soda to put in the small fridge Messina installed in the back of the van, Fang grabbed hot sauce (strangely), tortilla chips, salsa, and refilled his meds with his prescription. All together, we had enough food that looked like it could last a couple of weeks.

"I hope we're not going to eat all of that in one day," Messina joked as we put it in the back of the van.

We laughed, which was almost relieving, after Carter's death. Then I heard some kind of beeping noise. Fang glanced at his wrist.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"No, it's not my heart rate. Low battery," Fang said, tapping it with his finger. He disappeared back in to get some new batteries and came out a few minutes later.

"You do have a screw driver?" Fang asked.

I searched the back of the van. "Here."

He took it and unscrewed the back of the monitor, slipped the old batteries out, and put the new ones in. Putting the device back on, it made a starting up sound.

"Well, I guess it's working now," Fang said.


	15. Chapter 15

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 15**

By MyNameIsCAB

---Max's POV---

Messina wanted to drive through the night, so we all forced ourselves to stay up to make sure he didn't fall asleep. Fang had pulled the tortilla chips and salsa out, adding the hot sauce to make it a whole lot spicier. Spicy, to me, was better. I guess Fang thought so too because he kept adding more and more hot sauce.

"I love spicy food," Cal said, reaching back to have some of the chips and reached to dip it in the salsa. "Want some, Ted?"

She stuck the chip into Messina's mouth and he ate it. "Thanks."

Cal eventually got tired of reaching and got in the back with us, every once in a while giving some to Messina. I pulled out some soda, handing one to Messina.

"How far are we?" Fang asked.

"It takes sixteen hours to get there. We've traveled about seven hours now. I'll probably stop soon unless someone else wants to drive," Messina yawned.

We ended up stopping at some Motel 8. We got two rooms and said goodnight to each other. Fang lay on our bed, looking exhausted again. He was staring at his heart rate monitor.

---Fang's POV---

My entire leg ached from using that crutch, but maybe it was good. Maybe I could get some mobility back. My knee especially hurt. Dr. Guerra was able to reconstruct that at least when I got to his hospital. It was the only reason that I could bend it, but even then it still hurt like hell.

I downed two pain pills before I started to change for bed. Maybe it would numb the pain, but I doubted it. The best it did was stop the pain from waking me up at night.

I remember after the surgery, how they had kept numbing my leg so I wouldn't feel the pain anymore. Something like Novocain. When they did stop numbing it, it hurt like an effing car had just ran over my leg. Maybe even a truck.

Guerra had pleaded with me to let him reconstruct my knee. I wasn't going to let him do it at first because I was afraid with my whole avian DNA thing that it might just screw me up more. But somehow, he created that DNA to help me reconstruct my knee partially. Good enough to bend it even though it hurt.

But he couldn't do that for the rest of my leg, so I was like a sitting duck. I was stuck. Maybe things would get better. Perhaps Guerra would be wrong and all this damage and it wouldn't be as permanent as we thought.

"Here," Max threw my clothes onto our bed. "I'd change out here. The bathroom is very claustrophobic."

I turned my back to Max, hoping she wouldn't look over at me and see my wrists while I was changing. Looking at my clothes, there was a t-shirt neatly folded.

"Max, do you have a long sleeves shirt for me or something?" I asked.

"In the van, but Ted's got the keys," Max answered. "Why?"

Sighing, I continued to change. She had disappeared into the bathroom to brush her teeth and I was thankful for that much. Eventually, she was going come out here and see.

I looked at my arms, watching how the scars ran up and down them, and side to side too. Now I felt ashamed for doing something so foolish. I don't know what I was thinking when I did that. I guess it was good Guerra saved me.

Then Max stepped out of the bathroom. I pulled my arms down to my side and tried to casually sit on the bed. But there was no hiding any of this for long. She sat down on the bed next to my and took my left arm.

"Well, go ahead, look," I sighed, avoiding her eye contact.

He turned my arm over and stared at the scars. I fixed my eyes on the wall.

"Fang…What else haven't you told me?" Max asked, looking at my right arm now. "Fang? Answer me, goddamnit!"

She started to shake me by the shoulders. I didn't want to answer her. So I let her shake me.

"Fang!" she almost shouted.

I still didn't answer. So she shoved me. I didn't budge an inch.

"FANG!"

Then she shook me again.

"Max, stop," I muttered.

But she wasn't listening to me because, I guess out of pure anger, she punched me across the face and I fell off the bed with a loud thump. My heart rate monitor began to beep. I glanced at it. It read 177.

"Max, stop," this time I was pleading.

But she had already grabbed my shoulders again and started shaking me. "Fang…Why the hell won't you tell me!?"

185…I couldn't breath. Or maybe that's because she was practically on top of me. "Max…STOP!"

She suddenly heard the beeping.

"This is what happened…In Chicago…." I motioned to my wrists, trying to gasp for air. "Dr. Guerra found me…cutting. Brought me…to his hospital…Where you found…me."

Coughing, I closed my eyes.

---Max's POV---

I hadn't realized the beeping until Fang finally yelled at me to stop. There was now knocking on the door. It was probably Messina and Cal.

"Fang…Oh jeez, I'm sorry…Fang…" I grabbed his arm and looked at his heart rate monitor. It read 191.

"Max!" That was Messina on the other side of the door. "Max!"

Fang was struggling for air. What the hell did I do? I had been so stupid, so angry that he was hiding something from me. I was afraid I couldn't trust him, but all he needed was a few minutes before he answered me.

"Fang…"

Fang opened his eyes, looked up at me, grabbing my arm. "Max…Max…"

"Fang…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…I'm sorry…" I think I was on the verge of tears now.

"Max!" Messina was pounding on the door.

"Get the door…" Fang said before he started coughing.

I ran and opened the door. Messina stumbled in. "What's going on?"

I told him what happened. Messina kneeled down on the floor in front of Fang.

"Hey, are you okay?" Messina asked Fang.

He sat Fang up. The monitor on Fang's wrist had finally stopped beeping.

"Yea, I'm fine," Fang grumbled, leaning against the bed.

Messina looked up at me, a questioning look on his face. I sighed, turned away from him, and stepped outside.

* * *

**I'm no heart expert, so I'm sorry if you don't think that's possible for someone's heart rate to increase like that. It's a story anyway. Fiction, meaning, not real. Thanks.**


	16. Chapter 16

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 16**

By MyNameIsCAB

---Fang's POV---

Ted pulled me onto my bed.

"Fang, are you sure you're all right?" Messina asked me.

I looked at my heart rate monitor, it was almost down to 100. "Yea, I'm fine."

"So what do you want me to do?" Ted asked.

Looking up at Ted, I sighed.

"I mean, you want me to let her back in or what? I mean, she did beat you up. Look at yourself, you're a mess," Ted explained.

My head was spinning as I tried to sit up, and Ted put a hand on my shoulder.

"Do you want me to talk to her first?" Ted went on.

"Yea…You can let her back too," I answered.

Ted nodded. "You sure?"

"Yea, I'm sure," I muttered.

I watched Ted leave and closed my eyes. Somehow, I knew that Max didn't really mean to hurt me. Because if I were her….

I'd me angry at me too.

* * *

---Max's POV---

I leaned against the wall outside the room I was supposed to be sharing with Fang. The door opened and Messina stepped out.

"Max, what…What the _hell_ were you doing…thinking?" Messina never said stuff like that.

"I…I…I don't know," I stuttered.

Messina stared at me.

"Did…Did you see…"

Messina finished for me. "Those scars. Yes, I did Max."

I shook my head and turned away from Messina. He grabbed me by the shoulders and turned me back to face him.

"Max! I know you're angry at him," Messina said. "But beating him up was not the right choice!"

I looked up at Messina. "I know, Ted. I didn't mean to…to do that."

"I know you didn't," Messina let go of me. "But you go back in there and you apologize. I don't care what he did, but he's not doing it anymore. Max…"

"Messina, why do you care so much about what happens to me and Fang?" I asked.

"Because I…I never had a real family growing up, Max," Messina replied as he turned towards his door. "And Max, you make up for that along with Fang now."

And then Messina was gone, into his room. I stood there for a moment, still staring at his door before I finally went into my own room to face Fang.

I lay down in bed next to Fang. I thought he was asleep, but he wasn't.

"Max…" he murmured.

"Fang…I'm sorry," I told him, pulling the blankets over us.

"Max…I should have told you," he said, his eyes still closed.

I shook my head. "I overreacted…I shouldn't have done that to you."

He didn't say anything for a moment. When he did speak, his voice was hoarse. "Then let's forget this ever happened."

"Wha…" for some reason I was crying.

"Max, why are you crying?" But Fang didn't sound angry.

I didn't reply.

His arm slipped around me. "Max, do you think I'm gonna let this break us apart?"

I shook my head into his shoulder.

"Remember when I told you that there will always be a me and you?" he asked. "Well, there still is."

I didn't know why he was being so forgiving because usually he wasn't, or he didn't like to admit forgiveness that easily. And I didn't understand why he could be so comforting after I had just almost killed him.

And he even let me fall asleep, close to him like that.

* * *

I listened to Max's breathing, so soft and smooth unlike mine. No, I wasn't angry at her. Pushing her away was the last thing I was going to do. If she had done this to me in some other life, I might have hit her back, but right now, I just needed to know that we weren't going to let things get between us anymore.

But I guess when life gets tough, you hold onto the things that complete you. So I guess right now, all I've got, is Max. Not only do I want her….

But I need her.


	17. Chapter 17

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 17**

By MyNameIsCAB

---Max's POV---

I woke up, Fang's arm limply still around me. Looking at him, his eye was now blackened where I punched him. A wave of guilt washed over me, even though he had been so forgiving last night. I felt ashamed. Angry at myself now. I acted without thinking. Stupid me.

A few minutes later, Fang stirred, yawning and rubbing his head. He sat up, but then lay back down quickly. "What time is it?"

I glanced at the clock. "8:11."

"Shit, did I take my meds last night before I fell asleep?" he asked me.

I shook my head.

He sighed. "Oh well. It doesn't matter."

"I'm sorry, Fang." It was my fault he had forgotten. I didn't understand why he wasn't mad at me.

"No, don't worry about it," Fang insisted. "I'll be okay."

He reached for his nightstand and grabbed a pill from each canister before swallowing them dry. I could never swallow anything without water. I was afraid I would choke.

Just as I was about to say I was going to talk to Messina, he knocked on the door and I opened it.

"How's Fang?" he asked.

"I'm fine," Fang chimed in. "We getting ready to hit the road again?"

Messina nodded. "Whenever you're ready."

I watched Fang button up his long sleeves shirt, satisfied that it covered his scars which I had almost killed him over. We did a sweep of the room to make sure we got everything, and then we were, once again, back in the van.

* * *

---Fang's POV---

My head hurt, but I wasn't going to admit that to Max. She didn't need to feel guiltier than she already did. But my chest started to hurt really bad when she and Ted carried me to the car.

"You all right, Fang?" Ted asked as I ran my hand across my chest, hoping that would take the pain away.

"Yea, I'm fine," I lied.

Max gave me a worried look. She still looked worried now as Ted continued driving. We still had nine more hours before we even got into Chicago.

"Aww, crap." Ted hit the steering wheel with his fists. "We hit freaking traffic!"

Cal started to laugh. "Since when do you use 'crap' and 'freaking'?"

Max turned to me. "Ted doesn't have a _colorful_ vocabulary like you, Cal, and me do. It's rare to even here his say hell."

"Guess you all rub off on me," Ted smiled.

* * *

---Max's POV---

I remember that Cal had the nastiest vocabulary ever when I first met her. I mean, it wasn't like she was mean to us or anything. Maybe now that she's been around Messina, it's gotten better, but maybe now Ted is just getting worse.

"How long do you think all this traffic will last?" I asked.

Ted shrugged. "A long time. It looks like an accident ahead with an eighteen-wheeler. We're stuck here."

* * *

---Fang's POV---

Ted turned off the gas. It wasn't hot outside, so we wouldn't roast like an oven in the van anyway. Gas was expensive and there was no point of leaving the van on if we were just at a stand still.

"So, Fang," Cal climbed in the back and sat next to Max. "Exactly how did you make it all the way to Boston from California?"

"Well the doctors in Cali transferred me over to Chicago. Once I get discharged, a doctor from Boston found me and offered to bring me back there to his hospital for rehabilitation." I left out the part of the wrist cutting because I hadn't exactly explained why I had hurt myself to Max. Maybe it was better if I told her first before anyone else.

"And so I stayed there for about a year and a half and…" Suddenly, the pain in my chest just flared up. I cringed over towards the wall of the van, my eyes closed.

"Fang…" Max grabbed my arm. "Fang, what's wrong?"

"My chest…" I muttered, deciding I couldn't lie about this.

Max let go of me. She probably looked really worried, but I hadn't opened my eyes yet. The pain had just suddenly spiked. It felt like someone was stabbing me in the chest. That bullet the eraser had shot me with did more damage than the doctors had told me. Probably screwed some things up in there.

But I guess I was lucky to be alive.

* * *

---Max's POV---

Fang finally opened his eyes and sat up. His hand was still over his chest.

"I'm fine, really," he insisted.

"Sure," I frowned. I mean, he didn't look fine with his black eye and the exhaustion I could see in his eyes.

He sighed and closed his eyes again.

We sat in silence now for an hour. The accident finally cleared and the cops were directing everyone through one lane. Finally, we were moving again.

Fang's head plopped onto my shoulder a few minutes later. He was asleep, hand still over his chest.

"So what happened last night?" Cal asked.

I told her how I had overacted. Then I told them what Fang had told me about Chicago.

"I mean, I should have given him a minute to answer," I sighed. "I'm an idiot."

"Well, I would have done that to Ted," Cal smiled, trying to make me feel better. "You can't help but be angry. At least he's not angry at you."

"I was afraid that he might run off again," I admitted. "Because I don't want to lose him again."


	18. Chapter 18

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 18**

By MyNameIsCAB

---Fang's POV---

I wasn't asleep yet when Max said she didn't want to lose me. Now only if she realized that I felt the same thing too. It was the reason I had told her that there would always be me and her. It was the reason I wasn't angry at her.

---Max's POV---

We went through a drive thru at some fast food restaurant a couple hours later. Fang had woken up and asked for a hamburger with fries. Messina insisted on paying, so now I owed him another meal.

"Fang, are you sure you're okay?" I asked as we ate. Cal was back in the front with Messina.

"Stop worrying about me," Fang said. "I'll be okay."

"Why aren't you angry at me?" I said.

He thought for a moment. "Because being angry at you is pointless. I don't want to lose you either."

"So you weren't asleep," I said with a smile.

He nodded and gave me a rare smile back. Somehow, that smile seemed to take a lot of weight off my shoulders.

* * *

---Fang's POV---

Chicago, the Windy City. Home to the Chicago Cubs, the original Chicago team, so you can forget the White Sox.

We arrived at headquarters that looked a lot like the one Max and Ted worked at. Max started to pull my wheelchair out.

"No, it's okay, I'll use crutches," I insisted.

"You don't look like you could even stay standing with crutches," Cal commented.

"Yea, Fang," Max agreed.

She was probably right. I don't any of my pain had gotten better, so I got into the wheelchair and let her push me in.

"Hey, Ted!" The guy had to be at least twenty. He was definitely older than us.

Ted smiled and greeted the guy like an old friend. He probably was an old friend. "Mike, how've you been, man?"

"Great, great," Mike smiled. "So, who do we have here today?"

Ted introduced all of us.

"Well, bring your things in because I'm not making you go to a hotel. You can sleep in the soldiers' quarters. Well, I actually put nicer beds in because those cots are hard. There's no one here but me and Ted, you know Eli," Mike said.

Mike propped the door open for us before going inside. "I'll be back."

Smiling, Ted turned to us. "Okay, so we've got a place to stay. Max, why don't you bring Fang in and Cal and I will get the stuff from the car."

"We just need our backpacks," Max said, pushing me up the ramp.

"Okay, I'll get them," Cal offered and she started back to the car.

Getting inside, Mike pointed us towards the bedrooms before rushing outside to go help Ted and Cal. We encountered stairs. Just great.

"Jesus," Max frowned at the stairs.

I pulled out on of the crutches and grabbed onto the railing of the stairs with my other free arm.

"Fang, what are you doing?" Max asked, grabbing my arm to steady me. "You can barely stand."

I realized that my legs were shaking. If she didn't grab me, I probably would have tumbled down the stairs.

Max took the crutch from me and slung my arm over her shoulder and we made our way down slowly.

* * *

---Max's POV---

We found an empty bedroom and I got Fang onto the bed. It looked like Mike wasn't kidding when he said that he had changed out all the beds because here was a twin bed. I was pretty sure soldiers wouldn't get those kinds of beds.

"Thanks for getting me down here," Fang said.

"Well, I wasn't going to leave you up there because there will be no one to keep the bed warm," I smiled.

It was a good thing that the mess hall was downstairs. Fang had insisted on wheeling himself, but I wasn't going to let him. Now that he was tired, it was probably easier to raise his heart rate. I glanced at his monitor after we got down the stairs and it had gone up to 110.

"So, you two are the infamous winged kids," Mike said as we reached the table. "Ted has told me about you Max, but who's he?"

"This is Fang," I answered.

"So can he fly too?" Mike asked.

"Yes, all of us can," I said pulling out the picture of the entire flock from my desk back at headquarters or what had been headquarters.

"You still have that picture…" Fang whispered.

I nodded.

"I still have mine too," he added before he started eating.

Mike examined the picture. "Man, you guys are amazing."

"Thanks," I said, not really knowing what else to say.

"But I can't image what you've been put through." Mike gave me back the picture.

Almost in harmony, Fang and I said, "You have no idea."


	19. Chapter 19

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 19**

By MyNameIsCAB

---Max's POV---

"So, what's it like to fly?" Mike asked us as he scooped ice cream for us.

"Yea, it must be amazing," Eli added on.

Fang frowned. "I don't…I don't remember. I haven't done it in two years."

The way Fang had said it was very sad. In fact, he looked really sad now too.

"Yea, it's amazing," I said quickly. "It's not easy to put into words."

"So what's got you grounded?" Mike asked.

Fang avoided eye contact with everyone as he spoke. "Erasers, these human-wolf hybrids shot me. My leg is pretty screwed up. There's no way I can fly with it because it'll hurt like hell."

"Hmm…That sucks then. I'm sorry to hear," Eli said.

Shrugging, Fang finished his ice cream. "I'll be up there again some day."

* * *

---Gazzy's POV---

I didn't know what I was doing. Somehow, I missed Max's leadership now. There was no one to keep me in line. I had taken off, leaving Angel and Nudge, not really knowing where to go. It was probably the stupidest idea I've ever had.

And now Itex had moved again, so I couldn't even find Angel or Nudge. Now I was flying around California trying to locate Itex. I couldn't believe they had left in the three days I was gone!

I sat on a branch of a tree outside of the building Itex used to be out. Now I felt like crying because I was more alone than ever. So I did.

* * *

---Iggy's POV---

I was walking back to my trailer when Tom called me over to the tent that served as his "office".

"Hey, what's up?" I asked, feeling for a chair in front of his desk.

"The government wants to buy this land. They're offering money now, but if we don't give it up, then they're just going to take it," Tom told me. "But I have a plan. We take the money and they'll give us a week to pack up. How do you feel about traveling, Jeff?"

"Traveling circus, that sounds cool," I replied.

"Yea, and maybe we can find some permanent place to stay," Tom said, hope in his voice.

"Okay, so when do we get going?"

"Now that's enthusiasm, my friend! Everyone else seems to agree so next week we'll be headed to the boardwalks of Los Angeles!"

* * *

---Nudge's POV---

Angel was so quiet now. She didn't feel like talking, not even using her telepathic powers. That made me sad. But Gazzy had gone away to find Max and the others. And Itex had also moved our location, so now he wouldn't be able to find us.

"Angel, don't worry, we'll get out of here," I tried to reassure her.

"The scientists are thinking about us now. They've got their big bad new erasers ready to go and hunt the others now," Angel whispered through her cage into mine.

"Why are they thinking about us?" I questioned, scared to know the answer.

"Tests again…They want to know what's wrong with us so they can make better bird kids," she sighed. "Better, faster, stronger."

I hated when she quoted that stupid song. She always did when she talked about the scientists trying to make improvements.

Angel murmured. "Harder to beat, better than before, faster than us, and stronger."

I wish she would stop being so negative, but now I realized how hopeless we looked sitting in these cages.

* * *

---Fang's POV---

We sat around a couple of computers Mike and Eli were working. They used the picture of the flock to try to find matches from news pictures and stuff. I had a feeling this was a pretty hopeless search because I had a feeling that like Max and I, the others had stayed away from causing attention to themselves.

Eli, on his computer, was trying to find any information from government files about Itex. Even though he and Mike were government workers, they were still hacking the encrypted files to go in deeper.

"Aren't you going to get caught hacking?" Ted asked.

Mike shrugged. "No, not when we're logged in as an admin."

"Let's search names. What fake names to you think they would use? I mean, you did go my fake names right?" Eli asked.

"I was always Max," Max said. "I mean, the government already knew who I was when they contacted me so it's not like I could lie."

"I went into the hospital as Nick Markakis," Fang said with a half smile. "Iggy went by Jeff, but I don't think I could think of a last name for him."

"Jeff…Yea, that's not going to be much help," Eli frowned at the computer. "I mean, we can find the files the government has on you, but they don't know where you're located. I looked last night. It says location is unknown."

Well, at least we weren't being tracked right now.


	20. Chapter 20

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 20**

By MyNameIsCAB

---Max's POV---

"Wait, Iggy is blind," I exclaimed.

"That might narrow down the search," Eli nodded. "A blind teen named Jeff."

Eli began to type in the search criteria. I glanced at Cal who was now on her own laptop, surfing the web.

"Hey, Blind Jeff the Amazing!" Cal pointed to her screen.

"What?" Fang asked.

"Blind Jeff the Amazing is a circus act in Tom Barceló's traveling circus," Cal read to us. "Watch him take on two grown men and win. The next place the circus is at is in Los Angeles near the boardwalks."

"Iggy, a circus act?" I frowned. Somehow, I didn't think he wanted to be classified as a freak.

"Maybe it's Ig's idea of a perfect cover up for him," Fang commented. "After all, that's the last place I'd look for anyone unless I had a good reason."

"I'm surprised there's nothing that says he has wings," I pointed out.

"Maybe that's not Iggy then," Messina offered. "Maybe it's just some other guy named Jeff who just happens to be blind. I mean, there's got to be other blind Jeffs."

"Yea, there are a lot," Eli said, frowning at his screen. "I doubt you'll find anything here."

"Wait a sec," Cal said. "I got watcher reviews, there's a really grainy picture probably taken from a cell phone with its terrible zoom."

We all crowded around Cal to take a glance at the picture.

"It's so blurry too," Mike sighed.

"It could be him. He looks so much taller compared to those two guys standing next to him," Fang said, hopefulness in his voice.

We must have spent a half hour debating whether it was Iggy or not. Eventually, Messina realized we were wasting our time this way.

"Okay, enough. There's only one way to find out, go to the circus!"

* * *

"I hate airplanes," Fang muttered as Messina and I carried him up the stairs. "It gives you a false sense of flying. Don't put me in a window seat."

We obviously weren't going to drive to Los Angeles. It would be too long of a ride. Mike and Eli had somehow gotten us a private jet. Right now, those two were in the cockpit trying to get the plane ready to take off.

"Okay, Fang," I sighed, sitting him in the aisle seat.

I went back outside to grab our bags and his wheelchair.

* * *

---Fang's POV---

I remember being on the plane to Boston. Getting off, my leg had been in so much pain. But maybe it wouldn't be so bad after this flight.

Eli emerged from the cockpit, a pilot's cap on his head. "Are we almost ready?"

"Max is just getting the rest of our bags," Ted answered just as Max came in again. "Never mind, we're ready."

She put the bags in the storage area and closed the door, sealing it. She came and sat down next to me.

"The last time I was on a plane was with Jeb, and you, and Dr. Martinez, and the rest of the flock," Max told me.

"What ever happened to Jeb?" I asked.

"I don't know. Maybe we should try to contact them. You know, maybe Mom can take a look at your leg," she suggested as the plane began to move forward.

So maybe I wasn't hopeless after all. "Yea, that would be nice if she could do something." I looked out the window. "It would be nice to fly again."

* * *

---Max's POV---

Fang had fallen asleep after taking his meds. Planes weren't exactly fun for me either. I thought they were a little cramped, but this plane was okay because it was a private jet and there were less seats and more space.

"You hungry?" Messina asked, handing me a bag of chips.

"Thanks," I said.

He nodded. "Four hours and we'll be in Los Angeles."

"What if we went there for nothing?" I asked Messina.

"It's better than not going and never finding out," Cal answered. "Even if it's not Iggy, won't you feel better to know that you're sure?"

"Yea, I guess," I said, opening the chips.

Cal tried to give a reassuring smile. "Besides, none of us have been to California in years."

That was true. The warmth was a change compared to the winter back in Massachusetts. California whether beat anywhere else all the time.

* * *

Arriving in LA, it was lunch time. Mike and Eli had a rental car waiting for us when we landed. Again, we were walking on the tarmac because it was a private air field.

"See, that flight wasn't so bad. You fell asleep," Cal said, as Fang sat down in his wheelchair.

I could tell that Fang was trying so hard not to be negative. "Yea, I guess so."


	21. Chapter 21

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 21**

By MyNameIsCAB

---Max's POV---

"There's still a few more days until the circus opens," Cal informed us as we checked in to our hotel.

"So what do we plan on doing?" Mike asked.

Cal looked up at Mike. "I'm on break now for Christmas. Can we go to the beach?"

"Sure," Mike seemed to like that idea. "I haven't been to a beach with an ocean in years."

"Okay, beach. Tomorrow then, right?" Eli suggested.

I didn't have a problem with the beach. At least it would be a little warmer here. Fang looked a little disgruntled now.

"Oh, don't worry, Fang," I smiled. "We'll carry you again."

Messina and I busted out laughing, and even Fang gave a small smile. We were remembering how we had looked so stupid struggling to get Fang off the beach by Boston.

"What?" Mike looked confused.

"You wouldn't understand," Cal whispered, patting Mike's arm and shaking her head.

Eli distributed the room keys. I was with Fang, Cal was with Messina, and Mike and Eli both had separate rooms.

"We'll meet in an hour at the lobby to go get dinner," Messina announced.

"Okay, Adios for now!" Mike waved even though he was just across the hall.

"Adios," Fang muttered.

Our hotel room was pretty decent. It had a TV, a good sized bathroom, and a queen bed that looked really comfy. Fang wheeled over to the corner and pulled out his crutch which Mike had made something to attach it to the wheelchair. He started towards the couch and sat down, turning on the TV.

"Turn the news on," I said.

"Sure." I heard the TV turn on. A newscaster was talking about some explosion that killed three soldiers in Iraq. Nothing new really.

I stuck our backpacks in the closet, pulling out Fang's meds so he could bring them to dinner.

"Thanks," he said, taking them from me. He took out a couple from each canister and placed it into a smaller container in his pocket, and then put the canisters on the table.

Fang was fidgety in the elevator. Neither of us liked elevators. It reminded us of being trapped in cages at the School. I think we both breathed a sigh of relief after getting out and seeing Cal and Messina waiting outside for us.

"You guys don't like small spaces much, do you?" Cal asked.

"No, I guess not," Fang answered with a sigh. "I mean, it reminds us of being locked in cages."

"You got locked in cages?" Cal looked shocked.

"Yea, when they were being experimented on," Messina answered for me.

* * *

---Fang's POV---

"How many people?"

I looked up at the hostess for the restaurant we had just gone into. Couldn't he count?

"Six people," Max answered politely.

The guy looked down at me, frowning. "If you haven't notice, space is limited here."

"Well, then you can give us that nice table in the window," Mike pointed out.

"I'm sorry, that table is reserved," the guy frowned, his nametag read Frank.

I looked at the space between the tables. It definitely wasn't wide enough for me to get through. But I mean, the hostess could have been a little nicer.

"Then put a couple of tables together and let us sit closer to the front," Messina suggested.

"I don't think I can do that," Frank answered.

Why was he being so difficult? Mike looked a little pissed off now. Even Messina looked a little angry. But I had enough.

"So then what do you suggest we do then?" Eli questioned.

Frank sighed and then spoke in an annoyed tone. "I don't know."

"He's disabled. Don't you have any respect?" Cal asked. I was surprised to hear that from her. I was restraining myself from getting angry.

"Look, do you want a table, or not?" Frank questioned.

That's it. I had enough.

* * *

---Max's POV---

Fang suddenly burst out of his wheelchair, leaning on Frank's desk and grabbing Frank by the collar of his shirt.

"You got a problem, huh, Frank?!" Fang growled. "Do you not like disabled people for some reason?!"

"Hey, get off of me!" Frank tried to push Fang away, but Fang's grip was firm enough that it didn't matter.

"Scared, aren't you now?!" Fang shouted.

Suddenly, Frank pulled a punch to the same eye I had already hit Fang in. Messina caught Fang before he hit the ground. He pulled Fang back onto his wheelchair.

"Let's go," Eli opened the door for us. "Come on."

We got outside and Mike looked at Fang. "Fang, you all right, buddy?"

"Yea, just great," Fang murmured, rubbing his head.

"Let's get some ice for him," Mike said. "We'll get dinner elsewhere."

* * *

**I was thinking about how people have so much disrespect for the disabled and the less fortunate. And while this little fight between Frank and Fang might have been small and probably a little unreal, I'd just like to say that everyone deserves the same amount of respect, disabled or not. Don't be so arrogant and ignorant like Frank. Thanks.**


	22. Chapter 22

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 22**

By MyNameIsCAB

---Max's POV---

Fang sat next to me, an icepack over his eye, his other eye closed. We had settled to eat at some diner.

"That guy was an asshole," Cal said, pushing the ketchup towards Fang.

Messina frowned, but Cal didn't give her usual apology for swearing in front of him.

"Yea, no kidding," Fang said, opening his eyes and pouring some ketchup on his plate. "Thanks."

"Yea, no problem." Cal nodded. Then she looked over at Messina who was still frowning. "And he was an asshole, Teddy."

Fang began eating his food, his elbow on the table of the arm holding the icepack on his eye. "I shouldn't have grabbed him."

"You did exactly what I did to you, except I almost killed you and Frank is still alive and well," I tried to say with a smile.

Luckily, Fang found that very amusing and a smile formed across his face.

* * *

After our very eventful night, we were all ready to get to sleep.

"Well, goodnight," Messina smiled, his arm around Cal.

"Goodnight," I said, opening the room to my door.

* * *

---Fang's POV---

My leg hurt like freaking hell. I needed another pain killer. Looking at the table, the canisters weren't there anymore. Maybe Max had put them away. I couldn't ask her though because she was in the shower right now.

She finally came out. Why does it seem to take forever when girls take showers?

"Have you seen my meds?" I asked.

"No, didn't you leave them on the table?" she asked. "I forgot to pack a shirt. Do you have an extra?"

I hadn't looked at her when she came out of the bathroom. I now realized she had a towel wrapped around her. Reaching for the bag, I pulled out an extra shirt I packed and threw it to her.

"They're not there," I answered after she came out of the bathroom again, buttoning up the shirt. I had to admit, she looked pretty good in at. And maybe, just for a moment, I had become distracted.

"What do you mean they're not there?"

I sighed. "They are not there! Look at the table!"

Max went around the room, pulling everything out of our backpacks, and looking in drawers. My meds weren't anywhere.

"I need a freaking pain killer," I said, grabbing the crutch from the side of our bed and standing up now. "Are you missing anything?"

After looking through our backpacks again, Max shook her head.

"I don't have another refill for my prescriptions because I forgot to call Guerra," I sighed. "Shit."

"Call Guerra on your phone," Max told me. "I'll call the front desk and report the theft. I guess that's what you can call it. And don't kill yourself, here."

She threw my cell phone onto the bed and I sat back down, glad I wasn't going to have to walk across the room. Max sat at the desk and began to phone the front desk. I called Guerra.

"Hello, Nick! It's good to hear from you," Dr. Guerra answered cheerfully.

I told him what happened.

"Hmm…" Dr. Guerra seemed to be thinking. "All right, I can send the prescription to you. Give me an address."

I looked at Max. "He can send it to me, but where?"

Max had finished calling the front desk by now. "I guess the hotel. We'll be here for a while anyway and you'll need it."

I gave Dr. Guerra the hotel address and he wrote it down, saying he would send it first thing in the morning.

Now I sat on the bed, staring at the floor. How was I going to get through the next three days without any of my medication? I'm sure my mood would take a big plunge while my pain climbs a mountain. Just great. Look how screwed I am now.

"So what did the front desk say?" I asked.

"Said that we weren't the only ones reporting that medication had been stolen. The hotel is supposedly running an investigation with everyone who has access to all the rooms," Max answered. "But it's not like we'll get your meds back."

I sighed, lying down trying to forget the fact that I'd probably wait up in excruciating pain tomorrow morning.

"You'll be okay," Max tried to reassure me.

I turned off the lights as she got into bed next to me. "Maybe."

* * *

---Max's POV---

I could barely get Fang to get into his wheelchair. He looked miserable today. I didn't know if it was because of him getting punched by Frank or not having his meds. Perhaps it was both.

"Why can't I just stay here?" Fang muttered after he finished changing.

"Because we promised we'd go to the beach with Cal," I said. "Come on, it's almost Christmas. Cheer up."

He sighed, pulling out his bandages to cover the scars on his leg. I see he chose to wear shorts to wear today with a long sleeves button up over a t-shirt. At least he was wearing the t-shirts now.

"Why do you cover up the scars?" I asked after he had finished some fifteen minutes later. "Why go through all the trouble?"

"Because looking at them makes me think about everything I could have been," Fang replied, using some sort of sticker to make the end of the bandage stay in place.

I felt bad for him. Fang getting shot was partly my fault because I had let the eraser do it. Of course I had hurt him again when I acted irrationally about the scars on his arms.

Maybe a lot of Fang's suffering was my fault.


	23. Chapter 23

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 23**

By MyNameIsCAB

"Thanks for coming," Cal said as I helped pull a couple things out of the cars we had rented.

"No problem," I said, trying to sound like I meant it. Fang had been so resistant to come this morning.

"I can't believe Fang's meds went missing," she went on, pulled out the bags with our lunch. Somehow she had no problem with Fang's name being so unusual. I actually made the mistake of telling somebody and every time they had to say "Fang" it came out funny.

"He's not happy. I practically dragged him out of bed," I whispered so Fang wouldn't hear.

Cal sighed and closed the trunk. "You can take him back to the hotel if you want."

I shook my head. "He'll be okay."

* * *

---Fang's POV---

"I bet you the water's cold," Cal said to Ted.

Ted looked up at his from his sandwich. "Then why don't you go in."

Cal stuck her tongue out before finishing her sandwich. "Why don't you come with me?"

Ted finished his sandwich. "All right, let's go."

I watched Cal drag Ted towards the water.

"Aren't you hungry?" Max asked, holding out a sandwich.

"No," I answered.

She frowned, putting the sandwich back in the bag. "Why do you have to be so difficult?"

I shrugged.

Max stood up and adjusted the umbrella. It was cold at the beach, but somehow, the sun was still managing to blind us.

"You don't have to stay here with me," I said. "I can look after myself. Go ahead with Ted and Cal."

She let go of the umbrella and it fell back to its same position, the sun blinding me again.

"Go," I insisted.

Hesitantly, she left and headed towards the water where Ted and Cal were standing. I watched as Max and Cal pushed Ted into the water and a couple seconds later, he emerged, laughing.

Part of me wished I could be over there, having fun with them. The other half of me was more than happy to be sitting on dry land.

"Where'd everyone go?" Eli asked.

Looking up, Eli and Mike had returned from the parking lot with the other beach chairs.

"Water," I answered, pointing at them.

"Hey, what the hell is that?" Mike pointed.

I looked up. If I didn't know any better, I would have said that we were being attacked by an alien, but it was an…ERASER!

"MAX!" I shouted before screaming her name again.

The eraser was headed right towards her. It was too late already as the eraser grabbed her and they tumbled into the ocean. Mike and Eli were sprinting towards them and here I was, stranded on the beach towels, so useless.

Everyone else on the beach was screaming now. The eraser had engaged in a fist fight with Max, who was dodging the punches rather than fighting back. Cal picked up a rock and tossed it at the eraser's head. Turning around, the eraser growled at Cal, giving Max time to kick him before the eraser turned around again and threw her into the water again.

Now Ted was running. Running towards me. Why was her running away?

"Fang!" he shouted. "In my bag! My gun!"

Gun? Oh, yea, he and Max are still government agents. Ignoring the throbbing pain in my leg, I crawled towards his bag and pulled out his handgun and threw it to Ted.

"Thanks!" he shouted, running back towards the water.

Turning my attention back to Max, it looked like she and the eraser were now standing in knee deep water.

"Max, watch out!" I heard Eli say as Ted began to aim.

Ted's gun went off and all of sudden there was silence as the eraser dropped into the water. The entire beach had stopped their chaos and turned to Ted.

"I'm a federal agent!" he said, holding up his badge.

Sirens could be heard and it looked like the police had arrived. Cal and Max were heading back towards me. It looked like Max was bleeding.

* * *

---Max's POV---

"Come on, let's get back to Fang," Cal said, pulling me away from the gathering crowd. "Messina will take care of this with Eli and Mike."

I nodded, putting pressure onto the side of my shoulder. Messina's bullet had managed to graze me, but at least the eraser was dead.

"Max, are you okay?" Fang asked, a look of concern that I had never seen before from him.

"I'm fine, really," I insisted, sitting down next to him.

Cal pulled out the first aid kit. "Exactly what was that thing that attacked you?"

"An eraser," Fang answered, looking at my wound. "Human-wolf hybrids created by those crazy scientists that made us."

"I think that was a stray eraser," I added. "It seemed confused and unsure of what to do. If erasers had really been after us, they'd come in a group."

Fang seemed to agree with that as he and Cal started to bandage my shoulder. Now being out of the cold water, it felt sore. I didn't realize I was shivering until Fang pulled off his long sleeves shirt and wrapped it around me.

"Fang, you don't have to do that," I muttered, catching a glimpse of the scars on his arms.

He looked up at me and our eyes met. "Trust me, I do."


	24. Chapter 24

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 24**

By MyNameIsCAB

---Max's POV---

"Here," Cal handed Fang a towel to wrap around me. I half expected him to take his shirt back, but it still stayed draped around me. It looked like Cal was trying to make herself not look at Fang's arms, but Fang noticed.

"It's okay, Cal," he sighed.

"I'm sorry," Cal whispered back, looking down at the sand. "I didn't mean to…"

"Seriously, I don't care," Fang assured her.

I wondered what had gotten into Fang lately. It was unlike him to be so nice or even show emotion. Even this was a stretch. Not that I haven't thought about this before after Messina found him in Boston. I guess people do change. Maybe this version of Fang was better.

* * *

---Fang's POV---

Ted had finally finished talking to the cops. They dragged the eraser out of the water, bagged it up, and left.

"So what did you tell them?" Max asked, leaning against me and still shivering.

"Told them to take the thing away and that there was no need for more investigation," Ted replied. "That's an eraser, right? Max told me a while ago."

Max nodded.

"So, you want to go now?" Ted sighed. "We're getting looks and I think it's best we get out of here."

"So much for the beach," Cal frowned, starting to pack up our stuff.

"We'll do something nice for Christmas," Ted said.

That seemed to make Cal feel a little better.

* * *

---Iggy's POV---

The TV is on. We've finally made it to LA with the circus and the news is talking about how some deformed wolf turned up at some beach a couple of miles away. According to some witnesses, it looked like the wolf had attacked a group of people and then some unnamed federal agent shot the wolf. Reminded me of an eraser, but I haven't heard of one in years.

"I hope there aren't anymore wolves around," on of the maintenance guys said, placing a can of soda in front of me on the table.

"I doubt it," I said. "Thanks for the soda."

"No problem," he answered. "Let's change the channel. The Dodgers are on."

"Yea, but the A's are on too," someone else complained.

"The Giants, how 'bout them?" another guy asked.

"The Giants suck," the maintenance guy answered. "Dodgers, that's what we're watching."

I frowned. "Does it matter? I can't even see."

I guess the Dodgers got put on because they broadcasters were talking about Manny Ramirez, who, I was sure, was traded from Boston.

"And it's OUTTA HERE!"

"That's Manny for ya!" the maintenance guy cheered.

"Oh please, it was a stupid idea for the Red Sox to trade him," a new voice said.

"Jason Bay's not a bad player though," Tom said, entering the room.

I gave up on listening to them argue about baseball trades. Honestly, I didn't care either. I was still thinking about that wolf. What if it was an eraser?

Nah.

* * *

---Fang's POV---

It was late now. Max lay in bed next to me, wearing my shirt again. To make her happy, I had pulled on a short sleeves shirt. We were in the room anyway and there wouldn't be anyone but her to see the scars.

I had an arm around Max, trying to keep her warm. I hoped she wasn't going to get a cold from being in that freezing water. She had just taken some Advil to numb the pain in her arm. Of course, Advil wasn't going to help me.

"Do you think Itex is still looking for us?" she asked.

I turned off the TV and pulled the blankets over us and she snuggled up against me. "Maybe. But they haven't bothered us."

"No, I guess not," said Max. "But shouldn't they be coming after us?"

"I'm sure they're occupied with other things right now," I answered.

There was a long silence and I thought she had fallen asleep. I didn't feel tired though. My depression did that to me sometimes. Insomnia is what Dr. Guerra told me. But I didn't bother with the medication for that. It wasn't worth it. But maybe it just seemed worse because I had abruptly stopped taking my depression meds. According to the doc, it wasn't good to do that.

But for now, I seemed pretty okay. I worried about how the next few days were going to go.

"Fang…" Max whispered softly.

"Yes, Max?" I replied quietly.

"Goodnight, Fang."

"Goodnight."

* * *

**Next update Monday. Thanks for reading and reviewing.**


	25. Chapter 25

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 25**

By MyNameIsCAB

---Max's POV---

Fang seemed really tired when I woke him up this morning. I got the feeling that he didn't get any sleep and I was probably right. Isn't the great Max always right?

I guess we didn't have much planned today. Maybe we'd talk about what we were going to do for Christmas. Messina probably would want to go back to Boston or Chicago. Fang and I would probably tag along to wherever they were going.

"So what's the plan today?" I asked, yawning as we met up in the hallway.

"I thought we might try that café outside the hotel," Cal said.

We headed towards the elevator. At least we were only on the third floor, so the ride to the lobby wasn't long. After being trapped in cages by insane scientists, Fang and I didn't like enclosed spaces like that.

We sat outside, the air cool for a December morning in California. The waiter placed coffee in front of Fang. It looked like Fang could use some caffeine.

"Didn't sleep well last night?" Messina asked.

Fang shook his head, taking a sip of his coffee.

* * *

---Fang's POV---

I wasn't really hungry to tell you the truth. I just wanted to go back to bed and try to sleep, even though I would probably end up laying there staring at the ceiling.

"So what are we going to do for Christmas?" Ted asked.

"Well you can come back to Chicago. Mike and I have to go visit our parents. He's going to Oklahoma and I'm off to Michigan," Eli said. "You can stay at the station. We have an artificial Christmas tree."

"No, that's all right," Ted said. "But we'll probably go back there to get some of our things."

"That's fine. You've got the keys. Just keep in touch so we can get back together after Christmas," Mike nodded. "But where are you all headed to?"

"Cal, did you want to go see your parents?" Ted questioned Cal.

She shook her head. "Not really."

"I think I'm going to go to Arizona," Max said suddenly.

"What's in Arizona?" Then I remembered. "Oh, Dr. Martinez."

"Dr. Martinez?" Cal raised an eye brow.

"She's my mom," Max answered. "I haven't talk to her or my half sister in ages. Fang, what do you think about heading over there?"

And all this time I thought Max had kept in touch with Dr. M. "Sure, I guess. Whatever you want."

"You're welcomed to come," Max said to Ted and Cal.

"Arizona sounds nice," Cal smiled. "Red rocks, you know, Teddy?"

Ted smiled at Cal. "Sure."

I guess that settled where we were heading for Christmas. I can't say I was excited to go and see Dr. Martinez, but I guess it was better than being in Chicago.

* * *

---Iggy's POV---

"Tom, I need to talk to you," I said, knocking on his trailer door.

The circus was set up already, but we still had two more days and a safety inspector was coming in to make sure the set up was a-okay. But I didn't think I was going to be here for another performance. I decided that staying at the circus wasn't in my interest anymore. You see, I was heading to Arizona. Maybe Max would be with Ella at Dr. Martinez's house. If she wasn't there, I might return to the circus. But most unlikely.

I would probably just get flying again. It's been a while since I've had a really long flight and my wings could use a little stretching. Sure, I'd be back to visit some day. Maybe do a few shows. I'm sure Tom will understand. After all, he's watched performers come and go.

"Yes, Jeff?" Tom asked, opening his door.

"I'm…I'm gonna leave," I said, not really knowing what to say. "I think it's better that way and I might know where my friends are."

"Hmm…I see," Tom said and I could almost image him nodding. "I had a feeling you would be leaving soon."

"I'm sorry to give you such short notice," I sighed.

Tom let me into his trailer and I took a seat on his couch.

"So you need me to get you anywhere? A plane? No, you can fly, but I perhaps a less populated area?" That was Tom for you, always trying to help.

"It's okay, Tom. I'll be okay. But I promise to come back and visit," I assured him.

"Sure, of course." But I had the feeling Tom didn't believe me about that. Rarely did those who left ever came back. Maybe one out of ten, according to Tom and I wanted to be that one person this time.

"Tom, I really am sorry," I said quietly.

"Keep in touch, okay?" Tom said, finding my hand and shaking it. "It was a pleasure to have you here. My father would have been proud of how much profit you've brought us."

"Thank you, Tom."

* * *

---Fang's POV---

It's late again. I'm staring at the darkness of the ceiling, a glimmer of moonlight streams across Max's face. She's asleep, her head rested on my chest right now. I have to say right now that maybe she's the only one that can really make me smile.

My prescription for my meds hasn't come yet. Ted, Max, and Cal keep constantly asking the front desk for me. Speaking of Ted and Cal, there's something about them. I'm not usually all that accepted by people. When I spent time in Chicago on the streets, I became an outcast and looked down upon. Ted and Cal seem almost like family now. I feel comfortable around them.

But right now, my leg is killing me. I doubt I'll find any sleep tonight. Hopefully my prescription would come tomorrow. I can almost feel my depression get worse. My arms are tingling, begging for a blade which I refuse to give it. It's hard to keep going. I'm not as okay as the others think I am.

But it's probably best that they just believe that.


	26. Chapter 26

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 26**

By MyNameIsCAB

---Fang's POV---

I scratched the backs of my wrists, hoping the tingling sensation would go away. We were getting ready to go out for lunch before heading over to the circus.

"Hey, it's me, Cal," Cal said, knocking on the door.

Sighing, I wheeled over to the door and opened it. She waved an envelope in front of my face and I grabbed it.

"You're welcome," she said, smiling.

"Fang, who's at…Hey, Cal!" Max said, walking out of the bathroom.

I opened the envelope. The return address was from Dr. Guerra's hospital. Inside was the prescription.

"Oh, it came," Max exclaimed. "We should go get your meds before lunch."

"That's what Ted said," Cal said. "He's waiting in the lobby with Mike and Eli."

* * *

We entered the pharmacy down the street from the hotel. I wheeled to the counter and placed the prescription paper on the counter. The pharmacist read it and frowned. "Anything written by Dr. Guerra is not accepted for his criminal acts. I'm sorry, sir."

"What do you mean not accepted?" I questioned.

The pharmacist handed me a newspaper. "Dr. Guerra was arrested and made headline news. He's been writing prescriptions to a gang that doesn't need any of the medications. He's been supplying a gang that makes drugs."

I crumpled up the paper that was now useless. "You're kidding."

"No, read the paper," the pharmacist said. "I'm sorry."

"I need my medication," I said. "How am I supposed to get them? I suffer from depression!"

"Fang, calm down," I heard Max whispered behind me.

"You'll have to contact the hospital where Dr. Guerra es. Since the hospital didn't put you on the list of patients that need their medications filled," the pharmacist sighed.

I pulled out my cell phone and dialed the hospital. "Hi, it's Nick Markakis."

"Hello, Nick." It was Nurse Jenkins. "You're calling about your prescription, right?"

"Yea, I am," I answered, trying to sound calm.

"I don't know if you remember Dr. Ron Carter, but he's still going through Guerra's list. We just wrote your prescription out again and it's being sent to you on overnight mail service," Nurse Jenkins explained.

"Thanks," I said, feeling a little relieved.

"No problem, Nick," the nurse replied.

"Okay, bye now."

"Bye, Nick."

"So I guess I'll you later," the pharmacist said. "I really am sorry."

I looked up at her. "No, it's okay. Don't worry about it."

* * *

---Max's POV---

Fang's sour mood continued throughout lunch. He didn't eat much. Maybe just a couple of French fries. That was it. It was like he had just suddenly lost his appetite. I didn't dare say anything to him about it though. Neither did anyone else.

But when we finally reached the circus at the boardwalk, he seemed to have lightened up a bit. There was a man with a mustache, standing by the entrance.

"Welcome," he smiled.

"Hi, do you know where we can find Blind Jeff the Amazing?" I asked.

The man frowned. "I'm afraid he's left with personal family issues."

"That's not Iggy," Fang murmured. "Doesn't have a family to have issues with."

"Oh, all right then," Cal sighed. "Thank you though."

* * *

---Iggy's POV---

It took a while to find Dr. Martinez and Ella. They were still at the same house running their same routine. After all, I had to find that smell of chocolate chip cooks that Dr. M used to make. But there was no sign of the others in the flock. I was at least hoping to see Max and Fang. They must still have been together after I flew away from the hospital. When I had returned a couple weeks later to that hospital. Fang had already been discharged.

Maybe I'd stay around for a couple of days and observe Ella and Dr. M. But now a sense of dread hit me. I had left for nothing, chasing false hope. Max wasn't here. I was still all alone.

There was no point of making contact with Dr. Martinez or Ella. They would ask me where the others were and what was I supposed to tell them? I wasn't going to say that Fang, Nudge, and Angel could be possibly dead. I wasn't going to bother them with worries. I didn't even know if they knew that we were still alive. Maybe Max was still in contact with them, but probably not. I just had a feeling about that.

Ella was coming out of the house. Oh how I wished I could talk to her right now. I flew down from my tree and landed in front of her. She gasped and I put one finger up to my lips.

"Iggy, is that you?" she whispered.

I nodded. "Don't tell your mom."

I couldn't see her, but she answered. "I won't."


	27. Chapter 27

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 27**

By MyNameIsCAB

---Iggy's POV---

"What are you doing here? I thought you and Max and everyone were dead," Ella whispered, leading me away from the view of the windows. "That's what Jeb told us."

"You can't believe Jeb," I answered, not minding her touch.

"You have to come in and see Mom. What happened to the others?" she asked.

I shook my head. "No, I can't stay here."

I had a feeling she was frowning. The way she spoke really made me think she was totally frowning at me and that made me feel guilty. "What do you mean you can't stay here?"

I didn't know. I just felt that staying here wouldn't be right. Dr. Martinez and Ella didn't owe me anything. They weren't family like they were to Max. I didn't need to be a burden or an obligation.

"I guess I could," I finally answered.

"Please don't go," Ella whispered, hugging me. "Please don't."

* * *

---Max's POV---

We travelled all the way from Chicago to find out that the Jeff we had come to see wasn't Iggy. I had a feeling it wasn't going to be him. It was hope leading us on. False hope if anything. Why did everything have to be so hopeless these days?

But at least Fang was happy now. His prescription had come and the pharmacist was happy to fill it this time.

"As long as you go to Walgreens, your prescription can be refilled anywhere in the US," the pharmacist said with a smile to Fang.

He nodded.

"Take a bottle of water for free," the pharmacist went on. "Good luck with your…um…condition."

"Thanks," Fang said quietly and took the bottle of water, leading us out and into the streets of Los Angeles.

He swallowed his depression pills first. Then he took his pain killers. Something like Vicodin it looked like. That's probably what it was.

But now we had just finished dinner, getting ready to drive to Arizona. Mike and Eli were getting back on the jet and heading back to Chicago to be with their families for Christmas. That was a week from today exactly.

"We're only six hours away from your Mom," Messina told us as we got in the car. "I talked to the car rental place and they said we can return it in Flagstaff when we're ready."

Cal closed the trunk with a loud bang and we all looked back out the window at her.

"Sorry," she said, getting into the car next to Messina who was driving.

And so the drive began. Messina turned on the radio and ironically, Home by Daughtry was playing.

I guess I really was going home.

* * *

---Gazzy's POV---

Sitting in an abandoned Itex building, I must look really pathetic. I've been on a far fetched chase. I wasn't ever going to find where Itex was now. They've probably been moved ten times since the last time I had communicated with Angel.

It was dark and it was fool moon today. I found an old radio that just happens to work. I have Home by Daughtry blaring. Man how I wished I had a home to go to. A place warm and cozy with a family.

A place where I could feel safe.

* * *

---Angel's POV---

I haven't heard from Gazzy. It worries me a lot. I miss him. I miss the others too. But the scientists have forgotten to feed us again. They're too busy with their army of erasers. It must be some kind of evil world domination plan.

But being stuck in cages, there wasn't much me and Nudge could do. If only Gazzy would come soon. Or maybe we'd just have to find our own way to escape.

* * *

---Fang's POV---

Max was asleep, her head rested on my shoulder, my jacket wrapped around her as a blanket. Ted had insisted we keep driving until we reached a more populated area to find a hotel or something.

"So we're going to see Max's mom?" Cal asked in a low whisper.

I nodded. "Yeah."

"You think her mom would have seen any of your other friends?" Ted questioned.

"Maybe." But I didn't think so.

Ted finally pulled into a parking lot of a motel and got us two separate rooms. The bed was uncomfortable, but it was better than being in a car, cramped up.

Max fell asleep right away as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Goodnight Max.

* * *

---Iggy's POV---

I had a lot of explaining to do to Dr. Martinez. But she was patient and she listened to my whole story. She actually took the whole story very well. I thought she might have been angry that I didn't know where any of the others were. In fact, she had welcomed me in to her house with arms wide open. Dr. M even gave me a cookie.

Tonight I slept on the spare bed in the guest room. I didn't know how long I planned on being here, but I had the feeling it wasn't going to be long. After all, I had to go find the others.


	28. Chapter 28

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 28**

By MyNameIsCAB

---Max's POV---

Well, I stand now on the porch of Mom's house. I can see that the inside hasn't changed much and she sits sipping coffee with today's paper spread on the table. Ella isn't anywhere in sight. It looks like Mom is alone.

"Well…" Fang trailed off, waiting for me to press it.

Messina and Cal stood behind us. They were all waiting for me. I finally pressed it.

* * *

---Iggy's POV---

The doorbell rang. I was barely awake and stumbled down the stairs after Ella. We got into the kitchen and the door was open already.

"Oh my God…" Ella gasped.

* * *

---Max's POV---

"Max!" Mom almost screamed.

She hugged me and I looked over her shoulder. "Iggy?"

Iggy somehow looked at me. It amazed me how he could do that even though he was blind.

"Max…Is that really you?" he asked.

"Hey, you didn't forget about me either, did you?" Fang asked.

"Holy crap," Iggy said, his mouth now wide open.

Mom finally let go of me and Ella now stood in front of me. She squeezed me so tight that I thought I might have lost my breakfast.

"We thought that you guys had died or something," Ella told me.

I went over and hugged Iggy. Clumsily, he hugged me back. Once we let go, I realized I had to introduce them to Messina and Cal.

"So where have you been?" Mom asked, letting us in. "And you brought friends, Max?"

"Yea, this is Ted Messina and Cal Laughlin," I said, pointing at them for good measure.

We sat down and I explained everything to Mom and Ella and Iggy. Between Fang and me, along with Messina and Cal adding in a few things, it took more than an hour to explain. But Mom sat there, being ever so patient.

"You work for the FBI?" Iggy sounded astonished.

"Not anymore," Messina corrected.

"But that's still pretty cool," Iggy went on.

But Mom was more interested in Fang. "So you're on medication."

"Yea," Fang nodded and I watched him run his fingers down his arm which was covered by his shirt. He had purposely left out the part about his wrists. I didn't blame him for doing that.

"What for?" Mom continued.

Fang glanced at me. "The pain."

I knew that Fang didn't want to tell Mom about his depression. Messina and Cal exchanged glances with me, but said nothing. They knew why he wasn't telling the whole truth.

"So have you seen any of the others?" Ella asked.

I shook my head. "No."

"Nudge and Angel are still captured by Itex," Fang added. "And Gazzy…We don't know what happened to him."

Silence fell across the room. I guess there was nothing anybody could really say about that.

* * *

---Fang's POV---

Dr. Martinez seemed pretty overwhelmed by having so many people at the house. Ted and Cal had offered to leave, but she had insisted they stayed. Iggy had been helping cook meals and the rest of us tried to help too.

There weren't that many extra beds in the house. Max and I were sleeping in the downstairs guest room since it would be impossible for me to go up and down the stairs without help. Ted and Cal were in another bedroom up stairs and Iggy was sleeping on the floor in Ella's room now since there was nowhere else to put him.

"Why don't we go out to eat tonight?" Max offered. "I can pay."

"No, you don't have to do that, Max," Dr. M insisted.

Max shook her head. "I invaded your house with people. It's the least I can do."

Eventually Dr. M gave in and we were going out to dinner tonight.

Ella had suggested we go to a burger place that supposedly was really good. We had to travel in separate cars and parked across the street.

"I'm surprised we could get a table," Dr. M said.

"Yea, I know, right," Iggy agreed, sitting between Ella and me.

Max sat down next to me. It was actually nice to eat with a lot of people. It felt like eating with the flock. Not that Ella, Dr. M, Ted, or Cal, could replace Gazzy or Nudge or Angel.

But it was nice not to feel so empty for once.


	29. Chapter 29

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 29**

By MyNameIsCAB

---Max's POV---

Dinner was nice. We had a couple of good laughs. The conversation was kept to anything other than what had happened to us the past few years that we hadn't seen each other.

Still the bill was fought over. Mom still wanted to pay, but so did Messina. Even Iggy had made a grab for it, but missed it by an inch as Fang swiped it off the table. He opened his wallet, under the table and out of anyone's view. He realized he didn't have any money.

I looked up at Ella and asked her how school was going as I pulled out some cash and handed it to Fang under the table. He counted out how much he needed and gave it to the waiter.

"Thanks," he muttered.

"No problem," I said.

We got up and left the restaurant in what seemed almost like a mini parade. We probably looked so out of place.

I suddenly forgot I left my cell phone at the table.

"That's okay, I'll push Fang," Messina offered. "We'll meet you at the car."

I rushed back inside to go get it.

* * *

---Fang's POV---

"Where'd Max go?" I asked.

Ted answered. "Left her phone at the table."

We stopped at the curb, waiting for an opening between the cars. For some stupid reason, there was limited parking in front of the burger place so we had to park on the other side of a busy street.

"Be careful, Teddy," I heard Cal say.

It looked clear now and Ted started to push me across the street.

* * *

---Max's POV---

I grabbed my phone and walked outside to see that Ted was making his away the street now. I looked in both directions and what the hell was he doing?! There was a car barreling right towards them.

"MESSINA!" I shouted.

"That car is speeding," Cal frowned. "TEDDY!"

Messina turned and saw the car. It showed no signs of slowing down. No, that car was aiming at hitting Messina and Fang. Ted was running, pushing the wheelchair as fast as he could, but wasn't even halfway and the car was crossing lanes, targeted to hit them either way.

Fang's wings suddenly unfurled and he grabbed Messina just as the car hit the wheelchair. It looked like the car also clipped Fang's leg because he spun around in the air for a few seconds before steadying and landing on the other side. He collapsed and Messina grabbed him.

The speeding car had kept going and it didn't have any license plates. The only thing I caught was lettering on the back window that said "ITEX".

* * *

The cops and an ambulance came a few minutes later. Fang's leg had been bleeding badly and it had taken Cal a few minutes to calm Messina down. Now we sat in the hospital, waiting for Fang to come out of being x-rayed.

"You okay, Ted?" I asked.

He nodded slowly. Maybe he was still a little shocked.

A nurse was heading towards us and started to talk to Mom. "Are you his mother?"

"No," she answered.

"He's with me," Ted said, pulling out his FBI badge. Somehow Messina always had the need to carry it with him. I guess it wasn't a bad idea in case we got into trouble. I guess it was a blessing Captain Ramirez still said we were part of the FBI.

"Aren't you a little young to be in the FBI?" the nurse frowned.

"You want to call and check then?" I remarked.

The nurse sighed and began to explain about Fang (or Nick because that's the name we had given the hospital. "He's going to be okay. We see he's already had other damage to that leg. But he hasn't sustained anymore other than a deep cut that had to be stitched up. In other words, no broken bones."

"That's good," Messina muttered. "Anything else?"

"You can see him now," the nurse replied. "Oh and his current pain medication will do for now. No change in dosage or anything."

"Okay, thank you," I nodded. I'm sure Fang would be happy that he wouldn't have to pay for extra meds.

* * *

---Fang's POV---

I hated hospitals. They reminded me of the school where we had been cramped up in cages. But I guess I should be lucky that the car hadn't killed me or Ted. For now, the doctor's had numbed my leg because of all the stitches they had to give me. I was pretty sure it was going to hurt like hell later.

"Fang." Max entered my room and sat on the edge of my bed.

"Hey," I said tiredly.

Ted was standing behind her. "Jesus, man. You saved my life! I owe you now. I owe you a lot."

* * *

---Max's POV---

"You don't owe me anything," Fang said hoarsely.

I watched Messina open his mouth, but Fang shook his head and said with a weak smile, "Just get me outta here."

Both Messina and I smiled back.


	30. Chapter 30

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 30**

By MyNameIsCAB

---Max's POV---

"No, he's not to be discharged until morning," the doctor insisted.

Ted frowned. "I don't think you understand. The FBI needs him to be at a certain place by tomorrow. You have to discharge him."

"All you did was stitch him up," I added. "You don't need to keep him over night."

The doctor looked skeptical. "Fine. But you must bring him back to have the stitches taken out."

"No, we'll have our own doctor do that," I said, knowing Mom could do that for us.

"His hospital bill needs to be paid," the doctor suddenly said.

"We'll cover that," Ted said. He pulled out a business card that had his cell phone number and email. "Contact me with the bill."

"Fine, I'll discharge him," the doctor frowned and pulled out some papers, signing them.

Messina read through all the papers to make sure everything made sense. "Okay, thank you doctor."

We returned to Fang's room and helped him out of bed and into his new wheelchair which the hospital had provided to us. Unfortunately, Fang's wheelchair hadn't been salvageable from the hit and run by the Itex car. Cal had managed to get the crutch before the authorities took it in for evidence.

"We were trying to come and see Fang, but they wouldn't let us," Ella said. "You only got in because of your FBI status."

"That's okay," Fang assured her. "We're going home now."

"Oh, I thought he would have to spend the night," Cal said.

"Well, we bent the rules using our FBI status as an excuse," Messina whispered.

Cal nodded and we headed towards the parking lot. This time, I was pushing Fang.

* * *

---Fang's POV---

I woke up in the worst pain I've felt in a long time. My leg really hurt. It was probably because it got hit by the car and I had to put pressure on it to take off from the ground. To tell you the truth, I think it was more of the car hitting me.

"Fang, are you awake?" I heard Max whisper.

"Yea," I answered.

"How's your leg doing?" she asked.

"It's okay. Hurts a lot," I replied, wincing as I moved it.

"You know, you were pretty amazing saving Messina's life, flying up in the air like that," she said, coming closer to me.

I smiled. "If you say so."

"I mean, sure you got hurt, but you freaking flew," Max grinned.

Honestly, it did feel good to be up in the air like that. "Yea, I did."

"Maybe getting you to fly isn't so hopeless anymore," Max continued.

"No, maybe it isn't." Then I leaned a little closer to Max and kissed her.

* * *

---Max's POV---

Whoa, Fang just kissed me. I think my heart just skipped a few beats. We broke apart and he had a smile across his face, except it was a real smile. A rare smile from Fang. I realized I was smiling back.

"Well…" Fang started, unsure of what to say.

We were still smiling at each other though. I think we might have stayed there like that forever if Iggy hadn't shouted that breakfast was ready.

* * *

---Iggy's POV---

The past few days have seemed sort of surreal. I couldn't believe Max and Fang had just showed up at Dr. Martinez's house. It felt nice to be around them again though. I was relieved to hear that they had only recently found each other too. This could be a good sign. Maybe we would even find Gazzy soon.

Ted and Cal seem like nice people. They remind me of Tom and Dr. Martinez and Ella. They're the kind of people who don't think we're total freaks. I guess the number of good humans in this world is going up again.

"BREAKFAST!" I shouted.

Ella came in first. She smiled at me as she sat down. I couldn't help but smile back.

Dr. Martinez came in next. She opened the front door and got the newspaper before sitting down at the table. Ted came into the kitchen with Cal. I had finally remembered their scents. Finally, Max came with Fang. The one thing I couldn't believe was that he was now stuck in a wheelchair. Part of me felt guilty that I had totally abandoned Max and him at the hospital.

"Hey, Fang. We got you another wheelchair," Cal said, trying to sound encouraging.

But I guess Max didn't really abandon Fang, he sort of just left. So maybe I didn't have to feel that guilty.

But today for breakfast was pancakes. We passed around the milk and Ella poured a glass for me. If it had been anyone else, I would have protested I could pour my own milk, but if she did it that was okay with me.

I don't know exactly how to explain what I feel for her. It's a complicated sort of emotion. But I think a lot of you know it as love.

And maybe I am in love.


	31. Chapter 31

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 31**

By MyNameIsCAB

---Fang's POV---

We were at the local mall, Christmas shopping for each other. I didn't have a lot of cash, but decided I'd tag along with Ted and Iggy when Cal and Max went off together with Ella.

"So you and Cal are dating?" Iggy asked Ted as we walked aimlessly, not really knowing where to buy presents for everyone.

"Yea. We've been friends for a while," Ted answered. "And I think I'm going to ask her to marry me."

I think Ted told me that before. Iggy seemed a little shocked though. "How old are you guys? You're in the FBI, what does she do?"

"Cal, she's actually older than me. Eighteen and in college. She skipped grades," Ted explained. "She amazes me. I'll be eighteen in a couple of months. FBI recruited me actually."

**A/N: Okay, yea, I know Cal probably couldn't be that smart and Ted wouldn't think about marrying until he was older, but this is fiction and I already screwed up their ages in the beginning of the story, so just deal with it. In the end, it doesn't really matter how old they are. Thanks!!!**

"Oh, okay," Iggy nodded.

After a while, we lost Iggy in a glasses store where he was looking at sunglasses. Ted and I moved on without him.

"What the hel..heck am I going to buy Max?" I asked Ted.

He looked down at me. "Why are you asking me?"

"Because you've spent the last two years with her," I answered. "You probably know all her new interests and stuff better than I do."

Ted shrugged. "I hate shopping for girls."

I had to agree with that. "No kidding. Maybe you ought to propose to Cal this Christmas."

"I've been thinking about that. I have the ring already," he said.

"I didn't know that," I said. "Good for you."

Ted smiled. "You know when I first met Max, I thought she falling for me. I've had girls do that do me, confess their love. I hate telling them I have a girlfriend already. But I got to know Max and she told me about you."

"Really? What did she tell you?" I was actually a little afraid to know.

"She loves you more than you think, Fang," Ted told me. "I wouldn't lose her if I were you."

"Thanks, Ted."

"Like I said, I still owe you," Ted responded with half a smile.

* * *

---Max's POV---

"I can't believe I'm getting to spend money this Christmas," Ella said excitedly. "There's never anyone but Mom and me so we end up just going to see a movie and shopping, never really put presents under the Christmas tree. The only problem is, what are we going to buy?"

I usually handed out gift cards at the old Christmas parties we used to have when we were actually working for the FBI. I remember Ted and Cal were the only couple I actually bought real presents for. It always took me forever to decide what to get for them.

"You're not going to hand out gift cards, Max?" Cal joked, like she was reading my thoughts.

"I wish," I laughed.

We ended up in a sports store. I looked at a couple of wrist heart rate monitors for Fang. I blew one hundred dollars buying him a really nice black one that was waterproof, very durable, and looked a lot better than the one he had now. The store even offered to make it beep at a certain number. Of course, I asked them to set it at 170.

"Well that's nice you have a present for Fang, but what am I going to get Teddy?" I loved how Cal called Messina "Teddy". It almost killed the image of the strong and manly Messina I knew.

"You all have guys to buy presents for. I wish I had boyfriends like you," Ella murmured.

I looked at her. "You've got Iggy. He likes you more than you know."

We ended up in another sports store and I bought Fang another present. I was positive he would love this one. A Nick Markakis jersey. Cal was amused when I went to pay for it and explained to Ella why we were laughing.

"You know Ella," I said, spying Iggy walking aimlessly around a sunglasses store. "You oughta buy Iggy a pair of new sunglasses that you think will look nice on him or get him something he can use for cooking."

Iggy had left the sunglasses store by the time we got there. He hadn't bought anything. Even when we were a whole flock, I never understood why he liked to go to places that sold sunglasses. He couldn't even see them.

But Ella bought him a really nice pair of red and orange sunglasses that reminded me a lot of fire. Stopping at a cooking store, Ella also got Iggy a personalized spatula that had Iggy's name engraved on it. I chipped in and paid half so it could be from the both of us.

"Okay, that's nice you have all your presents, but what am I supposed to get Ted?" Cal asked, looking at our shopping bags.

"What do you usually get him?" Ella asked.

Cal shrugged. "Last year was that gun holster. You remember, right Max?"

I nodded. We still had our guns, but Ted and I had agreed that we wouldn't let that be a known fact to Mom. Then I suddenly remembered a conversation I had a couple months ago with Messina. "Get him an Xbox 360."

"Why?" Cal asked.

"Because he said he wanted to get one," I said. "Told me when we were stuck on a long car ride from Maine."

And so we ended up in a video game shop buying and Xbox 360 along with Halo. I chipped in some money too.

We still had to get presents for each other and so we ended up splitting up and shopping alone for the next few hours before meeting at the food court for lunch. I was surprised to see that Iggy, Fang, and Ted were carrying bags.

I guess I could only wonder what they bought.


	32. Chapter 32

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 32**

By MyNameIsCAB

---Fang's POV---

Ted had suggested I get Max a necklace with my name engraved on it. He said he had done it for Cal and she loved it. I ended up choosing a nice heart pendant. When the price was shown to me, I had just barely enough.

"Running low on money?" Iggy asked.

"How would you know?" I asked as we headed towards another store.

"Why'd it take so long for you to pay?" Iggy answered, handing me some cash. "Don't bother to pay me back. And don't feel guilty either."

I guess both Iggy and Max had jobs where they got a lot of money. Being stuck as a cripple in a wheelchair didn't earn me anything. How pathetic was I now?

Iggy wanted to buy something for Ella. I don't know what he ended up buying her, but he disappeared for a few minutes and came back with a bag. Ted had gone and disappeared into an electronics store and came out with a bag that had a box in it. I never had a chance to ask what it was.

* * *

---Max's POV---

Two more days until Christmas now. All the presents were wrapped and under the tree. Ella was very excited to see that there were more than a couple of boxes this year. I was just happy to see that she was excited.

I think everyone was excited about Christmas. It had been a long time since Christmas had been celebrated properly in a family like atmosphere. Iggy even said he was going to cook dinner on Christmas. And I had to admit that the blindo's cooking was the best in the world.

* * *

---Fang's POV---

The past few Christmases had never been interesting to me. I usually ended up at the hospital Christmas party for the patients and talked with numerous doctors and patients about nothing. After parties like those, I usually left feeling lonely and empty. At least this year, I was celebrating with the people who felt most like a family.

Everyone seemed excited, and I had to admit, the Christmas hype excited me too. It's been a while since I haven't felt depressed and sad. I think I was actually a little happy about this whole Christmas thing. The last time I had been this excited was when I kissed Max.

* * *

---Iggy's POV---

I guess I was going to spend more time at Dr. Martinez's than I had thought when I first got here. It was great that everyone was in such a good mood now. Even the dark and quiet Fang seemed to show some enthusiasm when I said I was going to cook. I don't what else happened to Fang over the past two years, but I think he's hiding something and whatever happened definitely changed him a lot. Fang isn't the same unemotional guy I knew before the flock split up.

But at least he hasn't seemed to change entirely.

* * *

---Gazzy's POV---

I'm sitting on a bench in front of some Los Angeles mall. It's almost Christmas and for the third time I'll be alone. But more alone this time because I won't even have Angel invading my thoughts. It was kind of depressing actually.

But I guess I was lucky that I wasn't going to be trapped in a cage this Christmas.

* * *

---Nudge's POV---

Christmas again already? The scientists are all happy about going home. Maybe we'll be less supervised that way. Angel keeps telling me how we should find a way to escape. Maybe that would be our chance. Oh, if I could have one Christmas present, it would be to get out of here and find the others.

* * *

---Angel's POV---

Maybe security would get lax during Christmas. This could totally be our chance to bust out of here! I think Max would be proud that Nudge and I were trying to plan. Max always had plans.

I guess if we did get out of here, we would have to find Gazzy. As much as older brothers were annoying, I missed him a lot now. I missed everyone. Hopefully, we would be out of here soon.

* * *

---Max's POV---

Lying in bed with Fang tonight, I thought about Gazzy, Angel, and Nudge. I knew they were out there somewhere. It hurt me to know they wouldn't be having a nice Christmas like we were. Maybe even a little wave of guilt washed over me, but I tried to tell myself there wasn't anything I could do for them. I could search and search all over creation and not even find them.

My head rested gently on Fang's shoulder. I felt his hand feel for mine and I squeeze his hand tightly.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Just thinking about Gazzy, Angel, and Nudge," I answered.

He squeezed my hand back. "They'll be okay. Don't worry."


	33. Chapter 33

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 33**

By MyNameIsCAB

---Max's POV---

Today is Christmas!!! Iggy's cooked up a nice breakfast and I can smell it from my room.

"God, I'm so hungry now," Fang said, sitting up.

I helped Fang into his wheelchair and we headed to the kitchen. Ella was already there, carrying on conversation with Iggy.

"Morning," Iggy said as he placed another waffle on what was already becoming a tower of waffles.

"Good morning," Ella smiled at us.

"Iggy, are you making bacon?" Fang asked.

I rolled my eyes and pushed Fang so he was in front of the table before sitting down next to him.

"Yep," Iggy answered with a grin.

The smell of food started to wake the others up. Ted had come into the kitchen, still rubbing his eyes. His hair was messy, like it was most days when we went to work because Cal wasn't always around to fix it.

Cal came in next. She frowned at Ted. "Your hair is all messy, Teddy."

She stood behind him and her fingers through his hair.

"Ouch," Messina complained.

"Well, at least it looks better," Cal sighed, sitting down next to him.

Mom came down just as Iggy was finished cooking. He and Ella placed all the food on the table and proudly, Iggy said, "Dig in!"

* * *

We were all in the family room, trying to agree on what channel to watch on TV.

"Hey, move over," I said to Fang. He was spread out, taking up the entire couch.

He sat up and I sat down where his head was. Now his head returned, resting on my leg. Fang gave me a quick smile before looking at the TV.

* * *

We all sat on the floor, our presents had been sorted out and now sat in front of the people they belonged. With our FBI paychecks and help from the others, we had gotten Mom a new car. Ted had got it from the dealership this morning and parked it down the street. He and Cal just put the big ribbon on it and drove it in front of the house while Mom was busy cleaning up the dishes. It was a minivan.

"Mom, why don't you open your present first?" I asked.

She picked up the small box that had the keys in it.

"Car keys? You're….This is a joke, right?" Mom looked shocked, holding up the keys.

"No, come outside and look and see," I said.

We got to the front door and she stared at the car.

"It took all of us, but we paid for it. It's totally yours," Iggy said.

"I didn't even expect anything from you," Mom said, hugging us. "You guys really shouldn't have."

"Hey, we all fit in one car now," I said and she smiled.

* * *

"And what did Max get me?" Fang asked smugly, leaning back onto the armchair we had squeezed into. He was holding the heart rate monitor I had bought him.

"It's full of rocks," I joked.

"Can I throw them at you?" Fang smiled as he started to unwrap it.

I watched Fang's smirking smile turn into an appreciative one.

"You got him a watch?" Ted asked, but then suddenly realized that he shouldn't have opened his mouth. Fang never told Mom about lung problem.

"That's a nice watch, Fang," Mom smiled.

"Yea, it is," Fang lied as he took off his old heart rate monitor and put on the one I had got him.

"I got it set to beep at 170," I whispered.

"Thanks," he said, quickly grabbing the next present before Mom or Ella could say anything else about the watch.

After going through a couple of small gifts, he reached the Nick Markakis baseball jersey. He unwrapped it, showing a rare smile to everyone else. Ted, Cal, and I started laughing hysterically.

"I don't get it still," Ella said.

Cal explained that Nick Markakis had been Fang's alias. Even Iggy was laughing now.

"Hey Fnick," Iggy cackled, referring to when Fang had been in the hospital and almost gave his real name, but had quickly come up with Nick.

"Shut up, Jeff," Fang smirked, grabbing a large present that I knew wasn't from me. I scanned the room to see who was watching. It was from Ted.

"Whoa, Ted, you got him a laptop?" I almost gasped.

Messina nodded. "I still owe him."

I watched Fang open his mouth to protest, but Ted was already watching Iggy open his presents from Ella.

* * *

---Fang's POV---

"Hey, Max," I said in almost a whisper.

She looked over at me. "Hmm?"

I handed her the box with the necklace in it. It wasn't something I wanted to give to her when everyone was watching. Ted glanced at me and gave me thumbs up. It was nice he cared.

"Fang…It's beautiful," Max smiled. I pulled it out of the box and helped her put it on. Luckily everyone was too busy watching Iggy fool around with his new spatula.

"It was Ted's idea, actually," I admitted.

She nudged me in the shoulder. "That's okay. I still love you."


	34. Chapter 34

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 34**

By MyNameIsCAB

---Fang's POV---

I stared at Max as she smiled at me. I almost hadn't believed what she had just said. Well, at least part of me didn't believe it. I guess some other part did because I was again smiling back at her. Our eyes met a lingered for longer than a normal stare.

"Hey, before we go to bed," I heard Ted say. Max and I glanced at him. He had a small black box in his hands, hidden from Cal behind his back.

"Is he really going to do it?" Max whispered.

I nodded. "That, I suggested."

"I got one last thing for you Cal," but it was more of an announcement.

We all watched Ted stand in front of Cal. He cleared his throat and looked up at her. "So I've know you for, say, five years now. That's a pretty long time…A damn long time."

I had a feeling he added "damn" to humor Cal. She did smile.

"And I've thought about this for a while. But I think I'm ready now," Ted let out a deep breath and kneeled down. "Cal, will you marry me?"

He opened the box, revealing a ring.

* * *

---Max's POV---

The ring was so pretty. I can't believe Ted was proposing now. Messina always told me that he was going to do it after Cal got out of MIT.

Cal frowned. "No."

"What?" Ella gasped. Messina looked like someone had just stabbed him.

A smile grew across Cal's face. "Do you think I'd really say no, Teddy?"

Messina smiled back in relief and stood, slipping the ring onto her finger. Cal's smile seemed to light up the room now.

* * *

---Gazzy's POV---

"Hey, you!"

I turned around. Busted! I gotta get out of here. To get food, I've been stealing it from the same store and I guess someone finally decided to notice me.

"I know you're stealing food!" the man shouted. "I'm calling the cops!"

Crap. I'm totally busted now. It was Christmas. You think the guy could lighten up a little, right?

I heard sirens as I started to run down the block. They were heading after me. There was no way I could out run them and flying away might be my only option.

Pulling my hood over my head, I took off and landed on the roof and out of sight of anyone. Well, I guess I could enjoy my sandwich and bag of chips from up here.

* * *

---Max's POV---

My phone rang in the middle of the night. It was a call from the FBI.

"Hello?" I yawned.

Fang stirred next to me, sitting up.

"Max, it's Captain Ramirez." I wasn't at all thrilled to hear his voice.

"How can I help you, Captain?" I asked, trying not to sound annoyed.

He cleared his throat. "Have you heard from Ted lately?"

"No. Why?" I asked.

"No, I was just trying to contact him for an agent that wanted to talk to him about something. It's not important. If you hear from him, ask him to call me back," the captain said. "So, you think you wanna come back and work Max?"

My answer was going to be no, but I replied, "Captain, it's Christmas. Why are you calling me so late?"

"Oh, sorry," the captain sighed. "Good bye Max."

I hung up without saying anything. Something told me that Captain Ramirez had a spot opened on some other FBI team that had a different operation and wanted to offer it to Messina. I should probably mention it to Messina tomorrow.

"Who was that?" Fang asked.

"Captain Ramirez, looking for Messina," I answered.

"Why do you call him Messina?" Fang questioned. "And then sometimes you call him Ted?"

"Because Messina just seems manlier I guess," I sighed. "It was some FBI macho thing. I didn't come up with it. Personally, I'd rather call him Ted, but I guess I just got stuck with calling him both."

"Oh, okay," Fang replied, putting an arm around me.

"Goodnight, Fang," I whispered.

"Goodnight, Max."


	35. Chapter 35

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 35**

By MyNameIsCAB

---Max's POV---

I woke up the next morning to Fang's light snoring. Not wanting to wake him, I crept out of the room and down to the kitchen to get some coffee. Cal was sitting at the table, admiring her ring.

"Want coffee?" I asked, walking in.

"Oh, yea, thanks," Cal answered, putting her hands into her lap. "Sorry…I just can't stop looking at it."

"I can't either," I joked, pouring her a cup of coffee.

"I didn't think he would do it during Christmas," Cal smiled as I sat down. "I was pretty sure he was going to wait until I get out of college, and that's in like three years."

"He's had the ring for a while, I think," I said. I thought I remembered Messina showing it me once.

Cal just sat there smiling. After a while, she started to look at the ring again. "So what's up with you and Fang?"

"Us? Nothing really," I replied, not really knowing how to answer that question. "Our relationship never really worked out before. I guess we'll see how it goes now."

"Really? I never would have thought," Cal said.

I shrugged. "Yea, it was complicated."

* * *

Ted came into the kitchen a half hour later, his hair messy as always. Cal frowned at it and attempted to fix it again.

"So, has Captain Ramirez been calling you?" I asked Messina.

"Why?" he replied.

"Because he called me to see if I've heard from you. I lied to him and said no," I answered.

"He wants me to be part of this other FBI unit. But I'm here helping you and Fang and the rest of your family," Messina said with modesty.

"Seriously, Messina, but if you wanna go back to the FBI, go ahead," I said. "You don't have to help, but you know having you and Cal around is great."

"Max, I'd rather be here than working with the FBI. We oughta tell Ramirez we're done now," Messina said. "Whaddya think of that, Cal?"

"I think you'd be safer helping Max," Cal said. "Besides, FBI agents don't have wings to use to save you."

I just had to grin at that because I knew Fang would have been amused.

* * *

---Max's POV---

During breakfast, Messina's phone. He looked at it.

"Ramirez," he announced. "Should I answer it?"

"Tell him you're not interested," Cal replied.

"Hello?" Messina said. He listened as the captain talked. Then he spoke again. "No, captain. I think my work with the FBI is done….No I'm not going to reconsider…No….I don't know if Max is interested because I haven't talked to her since we disbanded….No….Yes, I'm resigning as an FBI agent then.....Phoenix on Thursday? Yea, I'll be there, you can count on it….No, I'm not reconsidering…Good bye Captain."

We all waited for Messina to explain.

"Well, Ramirez wants me in Phoenix to turn in my badge and stuff. It turns out Chuck was in California with Kerry to exchange vows," Messina explained. "And Ramirez is here in Phoenix, so we're handing over our badges there tomorrow. And Max, he should be calling you soon. Apparently most of the team has resigned too."

My cell phone began ringing and I picked it up. "Hello, Captain."

"Max, are you interested in…."

I cut him off. "I'm not interested in anything, Captain. I'm done with the FBI. I have personal issues to attend to."

"Don't tell me your going to resign. I've lost the entire team already."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Truthfully, I wasn't. After Carter's death, it was hard on everyone.

"So where are you?" the captain asked me.

"Why?" I asked, knowing he was going to tell me about Phoenix.

"I'm in Phoenix. Messina and Chuck are handing in their stuff for resignation. If you're around, I need your badge and gun too," the captain answered. "Thursday."

"Okay, Captain. I'll see if I'm around," I answered. "Most likely."

"Okay, see you then," the captain hung up without saying goodbye.

* * *

---Fang's POV---

"You're coming back right after, right?" Cal asked.

"Yea, of course," Ted smiled at Cal, leaning down to kiss her.

I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Max.

"We should be back in a couple of hours," Max told me.

"Okay," I answered, looking up at her.

"You gonna be okay here?" I asked.

"Yea, I'll be fine." Max worries about me too much.

"Okay, call if you need anything," Max went on.

"Max, I'll be fine. I mean, Ella, Iggy, Cal, and Mom will still be here," I told her.

She shrugged. "Yea, I know."


	36. Chapter 36

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 36**

By MyNameIsCAB

---Max's POV---

"I never liked the Phoenix base," Messina sighed.

"You've been here before?" I asked.

He nodded, pulling into a parking space.

"Max! Messina!" Captain Ramirez was standing outside.

"Hello, Captain," Messina shook the captain's hand.

"So, what're you two doing together?" Ramirez questioned.

I exchanged glances with Messina and he answered. "Saving gas."

"Oh, I see." But the captain didn't sound convinced.

"No, seriously, I just happened to see him," I lied. "Can we make this quick because he has to get back to Cal?"

"Sure," the captain led us inside. We ended up in his temporary office. After signing some papers, we handed over our badges and guns.

"I'm sorry to see you guys leave," the captain sighed. "Are you sure?"

"Good bye, Captain Ramirez," I said, turning.

"Just, call if you reconsider," I heard Ramirez say.

But I didn't reply.

* * *

I got into Messina's car and closed the door. Just as he was about to get in, Captain Ramirez was running out. Messina sat down and closed his door, rolling the window down.

"I don't understand. Please don't go," he said.

I looked up at him. "We have other places to be."

Messina rolled the window up and backed up. The captain stood there and probably longer looking after us. We passed through the gates and back into the real world.

"Are you hungry?" Messina asked, turning on the radio.

I nodded, looking out the window.

* * *

---Fang's POV---

Max and Ted came back right before dinner. I had spent most of the day watching the news. The economy was crashing. Go figure. At least I didn't have any money to lose or gain.

"How've you been holding up?" Max asked as she sat next to me.

I shrugged. "Alright. For the most part."

When Max had left, my mind had wandered. Maybe a little too far. I wanted to blame her for me being stuck in this wheelchair. I wanted to be angry at her for abandoning the others. But that was the past. Wasn't it better just to move forward? I let those thoughts slide Ted and Cal walked into the room.

"Dinner is in five minutes," Ted said. "Just so you know."

* * *

It's cold tonight in my room. Max is curled up against me, trying to keep warm.

"Do you ever want to hate me?" Max suddenly asked.

I'll have to be honest to her. "Yes."

"Then why don't you?" she countered.

I wrapped an arm around her. "Because I love you too much to do that."

"I'm sorry for everything."

"It's ok, Max." Maybe my forgiveness and her apology made things a little better. I'd never hate Max.

* * *

---Iggy's POV---

Fang is being his usually moody self. Max is trying to comfort him. Cal and Ted are too busy being in love. Mom is just glad we're all here. And Ella….

Well, Ella is a different story.

"Hey, Iggy," she smiled as I walked in.

"Good morning," I smiled back.

Girls made me nervous, except for Max. I never knew how to act around them. But Ella, she seems to be easier than most girls. Not that I've met any other ones lately. And Max has always been the most difficult.

"I'm glad you came here," Ella told me.

"Me too," I managed to speak.

"I don't want you to go. Please don't leave," Ella begged.

I realized she was standing right in front of me, and I hugged her. "I won't go as long as you're safe when I'm here."

* * *

---Max's POV---

"Don't kill yourself," I said as Fang tried to make his way across the room with his crutch.

Fang glanced at his heart rate monitor and then continued moving forward. Once he made it to his wheelchair, he plopped into it and stretched out his legs slowly, suppressing a wince.

"I'll get better," Fang insisted.

I didn't doubt him, I just thought he shouldn't be pushing himself so hard. He'd been at this for half an hour. I'm surprised his heart rate monitor didn't beep.

"I think that's enough for today," I decided. "Please, Fang."

Luckily, and to my surprise, Fang nodded. I caught a glimpse of his monitor. It read 165. He noticed I was looking and moved his wrist away.

"Really, Max. I'm fine."

* * *

---Fang's POV---

I'm lying on my bed. Sometimes it's nice to have some time to yourself. Max hasn't burst in here yet, so she must be occupied with something, or maybe she understands I need time to myself.

My hand wanders up and down my arms. My sleeves are rolled up. I wondered if I should ever tell Dr. Martinez. Eventually she would find out. Maybe she would.

I tried not to think about those hard days in Chicago. It hurt a lot to think about that. Maybe I shouldn't have left the hospital without Max. We would have been a lot better off. I wouldn't have been so miserable.

The door opened and Max came in. She closed it quietly and climbed onto the bed next to me. I realized I was still looking at my arms. After a moment, I pulled my sleeves back down and she snuggled her head into my shoulder.

"As if the pain I already suffered wasn't enough," I said. "Like I needed more."

"Fang," Max started, but she trailed off and let out a sigh.

I continued. "I was so stupid. I shouldn't have left. But I was mad at you. You chose me over the others. I'm not stupid, Max."

"Maybe I did," Max admitted. "And you think I'm happy with that?"

I shook my head.

"You would have died. Itex wouldn't have saved you. At least Angel and Nudge would still be alive. It was three to two anyway." Max rolled back onto her back, moving away from me. "But now I wonder if they're still alive. Did Itex grab Gazzy too? Didn't you ever wonder about us?"

I sighed. "I thought about you mostly. All the time it was either you or the others dancing across my mind, in my dreams, and my thoughts. As if I was being mocked for everything I left behind. Not once did I try to look for any of you."

"But you're here now."

"Sure. But the others aren't."

Max was silent for a moment and then she moved back towards me, her head resting on my shoulder again. "Well, we'll find them. Don't worry."


	37. Chapter 37

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 37**

By MyNameIsCAL

---Gazzy's POV---

I had given up on looking for Angel and Nudge. They could be anywhere in California now. In fact, they could be in a different country. So heading to Arizona seemed to make sense for me. At least I could find Dr. Martinez or something. If she was still there, and I hoped she was. Maybe, if I was lucky, I'd remember my way there.

Flying was amazing. But doing it alone was less interesting. It was pretty, I don't know, I guess you could say depressing. You just saw everything, for miles and miles, thousands of things, and yet none of them comforting. I figured it would take a day to get to Arizona. Honestly, I didn't know. My map skills sucked, plus I had to stop and steal food. Making out like a bandit every night.

Maybe there was hope though.

* * *

---Angel's POV---

Nudge is lucky she can't hear their thoughts. The scientists are thinking about their families. None of them can wait to get back home for New Year's Eve. This one guy is planning to get wasted. It's gross. Sometimes I can't stand to hear people. Yet Nudge, when I listened to her, there wasn't much of anything. She was losing hope.

"Nudge," I whispered.

She turned to face me in her cage.

"It's gonna be ok," I promised.

She shrugged and leaned against the side. "I'm gonna sleep for a while."

And she closed her eyes, her thoughts more hopeless than before. If she gave up, I wasn't going to last very long here alone.

* * *

---Fang's POV---

The pain seemed to get better, now that I had things to keep my mind off of things. It's been a while since I've dropped into one of those moods where happiness felt so far away. Maybe I would get off the depression meds soon. They made sleeping hard. Sometimes when I took them, it gave me this off feeling. Or it could just be paranoia, but I'd beg to differ.

It's New Year's Eve. There's no snow here like there is in Massachusetts. At least it was warm here. Although long sleeve shirts and pants were annoying. Yet I didn't have the heart to reveal the scars to Mom. I didn't need to look down and remember all the self inflicted pain I had caused myself. Some of them were fading, but there were a few I knew that would never go away.

Sometimes I would stare at them, and Max would come along, run her hand up my arm, and pull my sleeve down. She would always shake her head. "Fang, don't make yourself sad."

And she was right, it would make me deeply depressed seeing what I had done to myself, yet I still wanted to do it sometimes. There would be only silence from me when she said that, so after a while, she would sit down, or lay down, next to me, curling up into a ball, and grasping my hand tightly, as if she were afraid letting go might release me back into that darkness.

* * *

---Max's POV---

Ted had been keeping in touch with the guys from the team. They were all enjoying their time off. Chuck and Kerry were out in Europe somewhere and were coming home after the New Year. Barry and Will were enjoying time with their wives. Both Chuck and Kerry offered to help us when they came back. Even Eli and Mike were eager to do something. To help our cause, as they would say. We told them after New Year, we'd start going again. And while we could be out there looking for the flock, it didn't seem right to leave.

Like every morning, Fang took his medication and ate breakfast. Cal was in the other room, on the phone with her parents. Apparently they weren't happy that she had ran off with Ted for Christmas. When she told them that Ted had asked her to marry her, they seemed a little shocked. Cal claimed in the end they were happy.

"They don't really miss me," Cal sighed. "They just wanna make it seem like they care."

Fang was amused. "Oh, that's just so nice."

Cal grinned. "Oh, totally."

I laughed. Ted came in and Cal ruffled his hair.

"What's so funny?" Ted questioned.

Cal pushed Ted lightly. "Nothing at all."

He rolled his eyes and they sat down across from Fang and me.

* * *

---Fang's POV---

Everyone is in the kitchen cooking, except me. I sat with the TV on, tracing the scars on my arm like I always did when I was alone. The news was on. They were talking about what the new year would bring the economy and politics. I thought it was a load of bullcrap, but I guess the reporters had to talk about something. To me, it felt like they were just talking in circles. Actually, they were.

It was hot in the house. I went to open a window when Mom walked in.

"Why don't you go change into shorts and a t-shirt. All of us are still in pajamas," Mom offered.

I hesitated. "I'll just open a window."

She helped me open it. I was trying to stand, but my legs were shaking.

"Go sit. Don't hurt yourself," she insisted.

I retreated to the couch and lifted my leg up onto it, holding it for support. Then I went back to staring at my arms. There were a few stories behind all of these. I remembered them well. But I shouldn't be thinking about them. It would make me depressed, so I lay back and closed my eyes, pulling my sleeves down, hoping to forget about everything for a while.


	38. Chapter 38

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 38**

By MyNameIsCAL

---Fang's POV---

Max came and sat next to me on the couch. "You look like you're going to pass out."

I leaned up against her. "That's because I am."

She took my hand. "You know if you want to talk about something, you can."

Maybe that's what I needed to do. Max probably deserved to hear everything. There were still things I haven't told her. Or maybe I just needed to vent and get some feelings out.

"I know," I whispered.

"There's some food to eat in the kitchen," Max said, changing the topic as Ella came in. "Would you rather eat here or there?"

"The kitchen is fine," Fang answered.

* * *

---Max's POV---

Fang refused my help as he struggled towards the kitchen. As soon as he sat down, the others bombard him with food. It looked like Fang had an appetite today. After a few minutes, we sat down with him and ate some food. I always felt like Mom cooked too much, but once we finished eating, there was barely anything left.

"Mmm that was so good," Iggy said, leaning back in his chair. "We gotta cook like this more often."

I watched Fang pull out a box with his pills for every day with his meals. He always took them when no one was really paying attention to him. It was easy to see that Fang was ashamed of what happened to him, and it worried me. Fang seemed to be getting better, but he still wasn't the same. His silence we different. Most of the time, his silence was because he was too busy thinking about his problems. Nothing went through his head without him thinking about his guilt.

* * *

---Gazzy's POV---

I don't remember Dr. Martinez lived. Somewhere in Arizona. Every now and then I would look in a phonebook, when I could find one. These days, those things disappeared. Who needed phonebooks when everything was online?

Most people ignored me. They were busy, rushing place to place for New Year's. Most supermarkets were crowded with the people trying to get last minute things. It was prime time to lift some food, and that's exactly what I did. But even a little bit of food couldn't fill that growing hunger that got worse and worse every day. I hoped I found Dr. M soon. Hopefully, she hadn't moved.

My next stop was the library.

* * *

---Fang's POV---

It's a long time until midnight, but I'm already so tired. Max suggested I get some sleep before then, so now I'm lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, trying not to look at my arms. Eventually, I knew Max would end up in here next to me. She didn't like to leave me alone for long, but I'd like to think it was because she cared that much for me.

I can hear them talking and laughing downstairs. Ted is the one talking, but I can't make out what he's saying. He must be telling a story because every now and then Cal interjected. Those two made a good couple. They balanced each other. They had everything going for them when I had everything to lose with Max.

And like I said, Max came in a half an hour later. She climbed onto the bed and plopped down next to me.

"Hey," I said.

"How're you feeling?" she questioned.

"Better," I answered. "Just tired."

"You should sleep."

"You always say that and I never do, even when I try."

She sighed. "Yeah, I know."

* * *

---Max's POV---

Fang drifted off a little bit before three in the afternoon. I slipped out of our room and headed back downstairs.

"How is he?" Cal asked. Ted was lucky, she cared a lot about him. She cared a lot about us too.

"He just fell asleep. Although it won't last for long," I answered. "He'll be ok."

"Well, that's good to hear," Cal smiled.

I sat, listening to all of them carry on their conversations. Once New Year's came and passed, we'd be out on the road again, searching for the flock and trying to finish off Itex. We had to finish what we started years ago. Hopefully, it wouldn't be too late for that.

And even if Gazzy, Angel, and Nudge were still alive, would they forgive us? Fang was lost and broken without anyone. He easily forgave me. If Iggy hadn't seen Ella and Mom first, I'm sure he wouldn't have been as forgiving. Gazzy, out of all of them, would probably be the least forgiving. I mean, after a while, I had just given up and worried only for myself. Fang, Iggy, and I all knew that under different circumstances, we might have walked away each other or thrown a few punches.

* * *

---Gazzy's POV---

It's New Year's Eve. The Library won't be opened for another two days. I could fly aimlessly around Arizona, but I was tired, so I found a secure spot on the side of a cliff, overlooking a small town. There was a bar that people kept going in and out of. Another year has come and gone. I haven't gotten anywhere. I lost my sister and Nudge. It felt like Max had abandoned me. Had Fang even survived? Poor Iggy must have been so lost without anyone. I hope he was ok.

The sun was just setting. There was still a ways to go before New Year's Eve actually kicked off. Too bad I couldn't go and mingle with those people and pretend to by someone else. I looked too young to be in a bar, but felt older than I should. Sometimes when I slept, I wish I'd wouldn't have to wake up to all the pain and horror.

* * *

**Thanks for being patient. Updates will come slowly. The holidays season and school make things a lot more stressful. Good thing for fanfiction. It relieves stress. Check out my newest fanfiction **_**Second Changes?**_** if you're lookin' for something new to read. Thanks, once again, for reading.**


	39. Chapter 39

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 39**

By MyNameIsCAL

---Fang's POV---

Happy New Years. I guess. I was asleep on the couch when the doorbell rang. Who the hell would be ringing a doorbell at three in the morning? I felt around for my crutches and made my way to the door.

Without thinking, I opened the door. I didn't even check to see who it was, and in another place and time, that would have been bad on my part, but standing on the doorstep was a boy with messy blond hair. He looked up at me, shocked.

"Fang. Holy crap!"

I blinked a few times. No, it couldn't be. "Gazzy?"

Max appeared next to me. "Hey, what's going…Oh my God, Gazzy!"

I expected Gazzy to jump for joy, but he walked in and closed the door. "Where have you been?"

And that's when it hit me. Gazzy was extremely pissed off at us. Especially Max. Seeing the two of us together didn't exactly send off the right idea.

* * *

---Max's POV---

We managed to get Gazzy into the kitchen before he started screaming at us.

"How long have you been here!" Gazzy pointed at us. "Why didn't you come after us?!"

He moved towards Fang.

"I swear, we've only been here for a week," Fang said, trying to move backwards.

"No, you're lying to me! You abandoned me and Angel and Nudge! What happened to Iggy? Did you abandon him too? ANSWER ME!" Gazzy unfurled his wings and lunged at Fang.

They went flying through the kitchen table. Fang didn't even try to fight back. He just took it. Then I realized it wasn't because he wasn't trying, it was because he couldn't.

"Max!" He wheezed as Gazzy pushed him against the wall.

The beeping. Oh shit.

"Gazzy!" I shouted. "Gazzy you're going to kill him!"

"GAZZY!"

Iggy entered the kitchen. There was silence except for the beeping. Gazzy stopped throwing punches at Fang. I ran over to Fang, kneeling down next to him.

"Breathe, you're gonna be fine," I said.

He closed his eyes, taking deep breaths. His heart rate monitor read 195. It started to drop slowly. 190…..193….190. Fang was sweating. I wiped his forehead.

"Iggy…" Gazzy backed away and sat down on one of the chairs. There was wood everywhere from the table that Gazzy had smashed Fang into. Everyone was downstairs now.

"We tried, you know," Iggy said softly. "I went all over the place, but you know, it didn't work so well for me. You think we gave up that quickly, Gazzy? All of us looked for each other, but we were all in separate places."

Fang grasped me by the arm and pulled me into sitting position next to him. I felt him lean against me, his hand planted on his chest. The monitor was still beeping, but it was down to 185 now.

"Sorry," Fang muttered. I shook my head and listened to Iggy.

"Fang isn't even in the condition to fly anymore," Iggy continued. "Jesus, Gazzy. This wasn't easy for any of us."

Gazzy looked ashamed. Poor kid.

* * *

---Fang's POV---

We listened to Gazzy tell his story. Now that I looked at him more closely, he looked older. You could see he was exhausted. I wonder how long it had been since he had a decent meal. Even I had to feel bad for him. There was no longer a table to sit around, so they pulled the chairs around Max and me. Ted sat on the floor on my other side, Cal next to him. Everyone else sat in a chair.

"You alright?" Ted asked me as he handed Max a damp cloth. She began to wipe the blood from a couple of cuts I had.

At least the beeping had stopped finally. I nodded in response.

"Where was the last place you communicated with Angel?" Iggy asked.

"Some warehouse in California. But they move all the time," Gazzy said, sounding defeated.

I felt Max take my hand. It was almost 5am now. My chest still hurt. My entire body was sore now. Surprisingly, nothing felt broken. Gazzy could have killed me and when I thought about it, that scared the shit out of me. He didn't understand what he had done, but later, he would.

"I think that's enough for now," Mom interjected after a while. "All of you need to get rest."

Max and Ted helped me up. Gazzy stared at the floor as we passed, refusing to make eye contact with me. By the time we reached my room, I think Ted and Max were carrying my full weight. My legs wouldn't cooperate.

"Sleep, for once, you idiot," Ted joked as they helped me onto the bed.

"Alright," I answered, giving him a half smile.

He closed the door as he left. Max put her hand to my forehead.

"You're burning up," she frowned.

"I'll be fine in the morning," I insisted. "Will you just get in bed already? It'll make me feel better that you're sleeping too."

She sighed and got into bed next to me. I win this time because Max fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

* * *

---Gazzy's POV---

I felt better now that I had told my story, and I'll admit, after almost killing Fang. Either he had gone soft or there was something I was missing. I didn't get to hear their stories yet. I was still mad at Max. Either way, she had chosen Fang over the rest of us.

Dr. Martinez had given me a few blankets and a pillow for the couch. I lay in the dark, staring at the ceiling. When was the last time I actually had a decent place to sleep? Too long ago. Yet I couldn't enjoy any of this knowing that Angel and Nudge were out there somewhere, locked in cages.

But like always, sleep claimed me because even my thoughts wouldn't be enough to keep me awake forever.


	40. Chapter 40

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 40**

By MyNameIsCAL

---Gazzy's POV---

It's almost noon when I wake up. I expected people to be awake, but the only person sitting in the kitchen is Max.

"We need to talk, don't we." It was a statement, not a question.

She nodded.

I took a seat across from her. "How is Fang?"

"He'll be alright," she replied.

"So what's up with him? I expected him to kill me," I said.

"It's been rough for him. I only just found him," Max explained. "But for some reason he was never able to heal properly. And his lung is messed up too. You really did almost kill him."

I looked away, feeling ashamed. It was never my intention to hurt Fang that bad.

"That beeping was a heart rate monitor," Max continued. "It doesn't take much to wear him out. I'm hoping he'll get better now that he's found us."

"So you two haven't been together all this time," I concluded for her. "I'm sorry I assumed stuff. So where were you and Iggy?"

"Iggy was off at a travelling circus. I was working with the government. That's how I know Ted and Cal," she told me. "They helped me track down Iggy and Fang. Well we sort of stumbled upon Fang at one of the hospitals."

So this was all coincidence. I didn't believe in them much, but maybe there was hope now. Even Max sounded hopeful.

"We're gonna find Angel and Nudge," Max told me. "And then we're gonna take down Itex, just like old times."

And Max even had a plan. That wasn't surprising.

* * *

---Fang's POV---

Max was already gone when I woke up in the morning. It was almost one in the afternoon. There was a glass of water sitting next to my medication. Max must have set it out for me. My entire body ached. Damnit, Gazzy. That poor kid, though. I still felt bad for him. If I were him, I would have been angry too.

My head spun as I stood up. I grabbed my crutches and leaned on them heavily. This was going to be a long day. I needed to go eat something since I just took my medication.

"Morning," Cal said as I walked into the hallway.

"Oh, morning," I said.

I followed her into the kitchen. Everyone was awake now, it seemed.

"I say we get the old team back together and go after them," Ted was saying. I took a seat next to Max and Ted continued. "They've wanted to help."

"Then let's get them together and we'll go!" Gazzy agreed almost instantly. "We need all the help we can get!"

Max hesitated. "I can't put them all in danger."

Ted shook his head. "Trust me, they all want to help. You have to let them."

"C'mon, Max! If we can take Itex down and save Angel and Nudge, we can finally stop running away," Gazzy pleaded. "How good would that feel to finally live somewhere and stay there forever?"

"Alright, call 'em up, Ted," Max gave in.

* * *

---Angel's POV---

We were being moved again, stuck in crates. I couldn't see Nudge.

"It's cold," Nudge whispered.

"I'm sure we'll get out soon." I could see my breath.

She started to cry. "I miss Gazzy and Max. I even miss Fang and his silence. And Iggy, I really miss Iggy."

Of course she missed Iggy.

"I mean what if they're dead?" Nudge sobbed.

"What if they're not?" I countered.

Nudge didn't answer her anymore and I didn't have the heart to listen to her thoughts.

* * *

---Fang's POV---

"I'm sorry for hurting you." Gazzy stood to the doorway of my room.

I shrugged. "I would have been mad too."

He paused, just for a second. "How bad is the pain?"

"There are good days and bad days. But maybe I've just gotten used to it," I said flatly. "The fact that I haven't keeled over and died yet amazes me."

Gazzy shifted his weight. "Oh…"

"But I'll be alright, eventually." That's what Max would say.

* * *

---Max's POV---

Fang was in a good mood, despite that Gazzy had almost killed him the other day. I was starting to think that Fang was getting better. He just needed to be around people who cared about him. There was more life behind his eyes than when I had first seen him back at the hospital with Ted.

Ted had called everyone. Chuck, Kerry, Eli, and Mike were all in. They stay true to their promises. I was surprised. Not that we were superior to humans, but it had certainly been a long time since so many of them wanted to help us.

**A/N: Chuck and Kerry are a couple, Eli and Mike are brothers. In case you don't remember, Chuck worked with Ted and Max. Kerry is Chuck's partner. Eli and Mike helped them find Iggy and they are brothers.**

"They'll be here by the end of the week," Ted announced.

"That fast?" Fang questioned.

"Yup. They just gotta hop on the plane and get here, really," Ted smiled.

I was amazed. The only question left was where would we go from here?


	41. Chapter 41

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 41**

By MyNameIsCAL

---Fang's POV---

Max was stressed out. A week didn't give her enough time to plan anything. We didn't even know where to go. Angel and Nudge could be halfway across the world now. They could be dead. She was probably running every single scenario in her head. It kept her up at night, awake for hours. Max was constantly getting out of bed, pacing the room, and lying down again.

"Max, stop worrying," I muttered.

"Why are you still up?" she asked.

"Because I never sleep."

She sat down on her side of the bed. "We can't drag all those people into our mess."

"How do you expect us to battle Itex?" I sat up. "I can barely walk. Gazzy is going to attack everything he sees that moves. None of us are cut out to take down a whole organization without help."

"There has to be a better way," Max said.

"We're still going to need help."

She stood up again. "I'm going to get water. Good night."

I got the feeling that she didn't want me to follow.

* * *

---Max's POV---

"Max!"

I sat up.

"Hey, Max," Fang hobbled into the room. "Stop worrying for once and get some food. Iggy's outside grilling."

"Oh, ok I'll be out in a minute," I yawned.

"You didn't sleep at all last night," Fang frowned.

I shook my head.

"Well, I'll be outside with the others." Fang leaned on his crutch. He wanted to say more.

"How long have I been sleeping?"

He shrugged. "Since you came to bed at nine in the morning. It's dinner time now."

I got out of bed and found clothes to change into. When I finally looked presentable, I made my way downstairs. Fang was sitting on a bench outside, talking to Iggy and Ella.

"Where's Ted and Cal?"

"They went to pick up Chuck and Kerry," Iggy answered.

They were coming already? It was too soon. As if Fang could tell what I was thinking, he took my hand and pulled me towards the bench. I sat down.

"Stop worrying." Fang sounded like a broken record. And then he added, "You're gonna end up stressing me out too."

He put his arm around me. I relaxed, just a little bit. Fang always had the ability to remain calm. It was the one thing I wished I was able to do. Even though he's softened up a little, there was still that calmness about him. Sometimes it frustrated me and other times, if you stopped to take a breath, his calmness would consume you.

"How long ago did Ted leave?" I questioned.

That wasn't how Fang wanted to respond, but he answered me anyway. "About half an hour ago."

* * *

---Gazzy's POV---

Max's friends are coming tonight. I wanted to start looking for Angel and Nudge again, but I knew I needed help for that. Part of me, deep down inside, always knew that I needed help. Maybe me losing track of Angel and Nudge was a blessing in disguise. Maybe, just maybe, I was supposed to go get help.

Iggy was grilling some food for us. Even though there were more pressing matters, there was nothing I could do about them. I'm sure Angel would have wanted me to enjoy the short time I had here at Dr. M's house. She would have. Angel would make the best out of even the worst situations.

I stepped outside, where everyone was now. Fang and Max sat on the bench. He told me that Max hadn't been sleeping much, yet Fang looked more tired. I always got the feeling Fang was hiding how much pain he really was in. If it weren't for Max, he would probably be in pieces. It wasn't my business though. Someday, maybe, I would ask, but not today.

"I'm hungry. When's the food gonna be ready?" I only asked the question to distract myself.

"It'll be ready when Ted gets back," Iggy replied. "But if you're really hungry, there's some chicken on the table."

Fang made his way to the table, slowly. How could he stand to be so slow? How could he stand being unable to fly? He didn't even seem like the same person anymore. But the way his eyes lit up when he was around Max. I couldn't remember if it had always been like that, but I wondered how downhill he had been before Max found him. Which made me think _how did she find Fang?_

I watched Fang put chicken onto a plate. He headed back to the bench, balancing the plate with food with his left hand. The food wasn't for him. It was for Max.

"You haven't eaten since yesterday," I heard his tell Max softly.

Max took the plate from him and began to eat. Fang's left wing came around Max, resting just on her shoulder.

"Wow they're so pretty," I heard Ella mutter.

Even in the moonlight, Fang's wings seemed to glint that purple sheen.

"It's a shame he can't fly anymore," Iggy shook his head.

Ella and I stared for another minute, mesmerized by the one thing that Fang probably felt bitter towards. Every time I looked at Fang, I felt like I had another reason to be guilty. Fang didn't deserve any of this. Now that he had Max, maybe he was better, but to know that we could all fly and he couldn't probably disheartened him.

"There has to be a way to fix the damage," I thought out loud.

"He couldn't afford it," Iggy almost whispered. "And the way we're built..."

Ella shook her head and we stood in silence, as if Fang's loss of flight had been our own loss too.

* * *

**Happy 2010 everyone! Good luck with the new year. New Year's Resolution? Perhaps to write more fanfiction! jk jk. That would be an easy one though :D**


	42. Chapter 42

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 42**

By MyNameIsCAL

---Max's POV---

Chuck and Kerry go on and on about Europe as we eat dinner. It was a good distraction for me though. If it weren't for them, my mind would have been somewhere else, worrying.

"So Mike and Eli? No one else from the team wanted in?" Chuck asked.

Ted shook his head. "Barry and Will have their families. If it wasn't FBI business, then Barry didn't want in. He needs the money. Will wanted to come, but his wife wouldn't let him. To them, this looks like a suicide mission."

Chuck frowned. "Ah, well of course Barry would think that. Will's wife always had so much control over him. He should bring her along with us."

"Kerry knows how to shoot a gun," Ted replied. "I don't think Will's wife can."

"Ah, true," Kerry chuckled.

Our attention turned back to the food.

"So you're telling me you cooked this?" Chuck addressed Iggy.

"Yes, I did," Iggy nodded.

Chuck laughed. "Well this has to be just about the best barbequed food I ever had."

"Thanks," Iggy smiled.

I glanced at Fang. He had surprisingly eaten everything I had put on his plate.

"What're you smiling at?" he murmured.

I shook my head, trying to suppress a smile.

"I eat because it makes you happy," he said. "And when you're happy, well I guess I'm happy."

Fang was smiling now.

Before I could say anything back, he leaned against the table, his face now pained. He coughed a few times. Everyone fell silent.

"I'm…Fine," Fang insisted.

Gazzy, out of everyone, looked the most concerned.

Fang checked his monitor and then closed his eyes. He took a few deep breaths.

"Is he ok?" Gazzy sounded like he was a kid again, back when we were rescuing Angel for the first time.

That's when the beeping started. "Fang…"

"You need to get me to a hospital."

"What?"

He dropped to the floor.

* * *

---Max's POV---

"He had a heart attack."

I stared at the doctor.

"He's going to be fine," the doctor added quickly. "And he was lucky you got him here fast."

"Can I see him?" I struggled to speak.

The doctor nodded. "Just a question first. Has he been under a lot of stress lately? I know he already had another condition."

Gazzy almost killed him a few days ago. Fang wasn't his calm usual self anymore. In fact, Fang probably hid a lot of his feelings and pain from us. "Yes, he has, I suppose."

"I think it would be a good idea to put him on some medication. It'll reduce the chances of him having another heart attack. It won't interfere with the other medication he's already taking. Well, I'll have to discuss it with him later, I just thought you should know."

I barely comprehended any of that. "Oh, alright."

The doctor started to lead me to Fang's room.

"Ted, c'mon." I motioned. "You waited all this time."

Fang looked awful. They had tubes up his nose and everything. The doctor left, closing the door behind.

"I told you that I'd be ok," Fang joked.

Ted laughed and I tried not to smile. "Damnit, Fang. You scared the shit out of me."

Fang sighed. "Yeah, I figured."

"I'm really glad that you're ok," I smiled, trying not to cry.

Fang's eyes met mine. "Me too."

"You should rest now. I can talk to you in the morning."

"You should go home and sleep."

I shook my head.

"Well, you oughta tell everyone I'm ok."

"I will."

Fang gave me a half smile.

* * *

---Gazzy's POV---

"Gazzy go to sleep."

I shook my head. What if it was my fault that Fang had collapsed? I had to take some kind of responsibility.

"I'm sure Fang is fine," Ella assured me.

The phone rang. I reached it first. "Hello?"

"Gazzy?" It was Max.

"Yeah, it's me."

"He's going to be ok," she told me.

"What happened?"

It took her a minute to reply. "He had a heart attack."

Oh, crap. That had to be my doing, or at least partly my fault if not all of it.

"Gazzy, I know you think it's your fault," Max started, "but It's not your fault, so promise me you won't get all worked up about it."

"I'm sorry," I said anyway.

Max sighed. "It's alright, Gazzy. Ted is coming home now. I'll stay here overnight. Tell everyone that Fang's going to be ok."

"Don't worry, I'll tell them," I promised.

"Thanks."

I hung up.

* * *

---Iggy's POV---

Ella came into the room. Sat on her bed.

"What's up?" I yawned.

"Fang had a heart attack," Ella answered.

I sat up. "A heart attack?"

"Yeah, I didn't believe Gazzy at first, but he seemed really upset about it," Ella explained. "And then I realized why he was so upset. He thinks it's his fault."

"His fault? Why?"

"Ig, he almost killed Fang the other day," Ella said.

"Oh."

I got the feeling she was rolling her eyes at me.

"I worry about Gazzy and Fang," I confessed.

"Why's that?"

"Fang is…Delicate," I wasn't quite sure how to explain it. "And Gazzy is mentally unstable. They're both on the verge of breaking. I don't know what I'm trying to say, but they'd be a lot worse off without us, I think."

"What ever happened to all of you?" Ella asked.

She knew the whole story already, I guess she just never understood why we had turned against each other like that.

* * *

---Fang's POV---

"I'm gonna hold you all back," I said to Max.

"Don't say that," she responded.

"I'm not what I used to be." I let out a breath. "I don't know how much longer I can go on like this."


	43. Chapter 43

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 43**

By MyNameIsCAL

---Max's POV---

They discharged Fang from the hospital a few days later. Mike and Eli had arrived yesterday. Mom's house was packed with people. They insisted on going to a hotel, but Mom made room for them.

Fang was glad to get out of the hospital, but his mental state of mind was starting to lower again. He seemed distracted. Reluctantly, Fang had been prescribed medication for stress. Basically, it wouldn't let his blood pressure get too high, preventing another heart attack. Sometimes I thought Fang got frustrated that he needed doctors and medication to fix him.

"Is there anything you need before we go home?" I asked Fang.

He shook his head. "Going home actually sounds good."

* * *

---Iggy's POV---

It was late, but Fang was still awake, watching TV in the family room when I came down to prepare food for breakfast like I did every night.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" I asked.

Max was with him too, but she was asleep. "Yeah, I should be, according to the doctor."

I took a seat next to him.

"Did I ever tell you what really happened in Chicago?" Fang asked, his voice hoarse.

"I suppose not," I replied.

Fang let out a deep breath. "I suffer from depression, Ig. I sorta just lost it after I got out of the hospital there."

Why was he telling me this?

"And I just get so tired of this. Being in pain and living on the verge of death," he continued. "They can't fix my mind and they can't fix my leg or lung. I'll be like this forever and sometimes I get to the point where I can't take it anymore. If it weren't for finding Max and you, I wouldn't be alive anymore."

"Don't say that." But I knew Fang was telling the truth. That explained his moods and why there was something off about him ever since we reunited.

"Even now I'm just afraid I'm going to do something stupid or I get stressed out that something's going to happen to me and Max will get stuck without me again. Iggy, just promise you won't let me do anything stupid." He sounded like he was crying. "And if anything happens to me, look after her."

"Nothing's going to happen to you."

"Just promise me that you'll do that if something does."

"Alright, I promise."

* * *

---Max's POV---

I had fallen asleep, listening to Fang's heart beat. It was only a little faster than normal, but I promised myself I wouldn't worry too much, for his sake. When I worried, he would only get more worried about me. That wouldn't be good for his health.

We were barely adults and he had already had a heart attack. I think that was one of the reasons he had become so depressed lately. It made him feel older than he was. Then again, mentally we were older beyond the years we had been breathing. Pain was a weakness to him, or at least sometimes it was. It really brought him down when in the end, it didn't affect the way we equated him to as a person.

"Max, wake up, breakfast." Fang shook me awake.

He still had his arm around me. I guess we had both fallen asleep on the couch.

Helping Fang of the couch, I handed him his crutch and we entered the kitchen. Mom had put out a folding table and some folding chairs. Even then the kitchen was still packed with people. Chuck and Barry were already seated. Cal was carrying on a conversation. Ted was getting the drinks out of the fridge. Fang took the seat closest to where we were standing.

"Morning," Cal said. "How's it going, Fang?"

Fang shrugged. "Alright, I guess."

I watched him take out his medication and set out what he needed to take. There was the pain killer, his depression meds, and his new blood pressure meds. Ted placed a glass of water next to Fang's plate.

"Thanks," Fang muttered.

* * *

---Nudge's POV---

Wherever we are now, they put me and Angel in separate rooms. We can only communicate through Angel's mind reading powers now. Even with Angel, I felt lonelier every day. They only fed us once a day. It wasn't enough. The last time I had seen Angel, she was nothing but a toothpick.

When I wasn't conversing with Angel in my head, I was thinking about Iggy. I wondered what had happened to him. Sometimes I would wonder about the others, like if Fang lived or not. He must have. I knew that Max had picked to save him over us, and by now, I could accept that without anger. After all, it was three to two and we knew she had to save the bigger group.

And if I wasn't thinking, I was sleeping. I got tired so fast that sleeping wasn't hard. Angel didn't like to sleep though. She was afraid of being separated. Sometimes when we were both sleeping, we would wake up in cages somewhere else. Other times, we would find ourselves apart. The time without each other was the hardest. Angel said that they were going to start experimenting on us again. It meant running and going through the cruel tests they set up for us.

One of these days the exhaustion was going to kill us.


	44. Chapter 44

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 44**

By MyNameIsCAL

---Gazzy's POV---

Fang seemed to be alright, but I was afraid to confront him. Cal insisted that everything was going to be ok, but I didn't need to make things rougher than I already had. Maybe after Fang had more time to recover, I would talk to him.

It was pretty chaotic too, at the house. Meals seemed to take forever to make. Iggy was constantly in the kitchen. The others drifted in and out, trying to help. Sometimes I found myself in there just to avoid Fang, who was either watching TV or in his room. Max never left his side. At least there was someone looking after him.

* * *

---Max's POV---

Mike and Eli had a plan. For the most part, they were unmonitored by their higher ups. Actually, they were in charge over there in Chicago. According to Eli, they had left a couple of trusted agents to keep things in check. Thanks to them, we had some direction to go.

The two of them had each driven unmarked and equipped vans. Everything from weapons to communication devices were in there. Not that we needed the weapons. I didn't quite understand why humans had such a high need for guns and rifles.

"We have some vague records that sound like that the files have been tampered with. The locations are all in isolated or unlikely places that you would think some kind of evil scientist operation would be taking place." Eli smiled at his own joke. "We can try those places. Otherwise, I'm guessing, you don't really have anything to run on."

I nodded.

"Maybe you oughta ask Captain Ramirez for some help," Mike suggested. "We could use a little extra help."

"Maybe." I didn't want to reject the idea entirely. "We'll see how things go at first."

Eli seemed to agree with that.

* * *

---Fang's POV---

Tangled up under the bed sheets, Max and I listened quietly to the world around us. We had both climbed into bed without a word. Sometimes silence was more powerful than words. Although we both knew that there were things that needed to be spoken.

I let out a deep breath. "When do you plan on leaving to look for Nudge and Angel?"

Max lifted her head from my chest. "I was going to wait another week."

I was about to ask why, but I knew. She was putting me first, like she did when we had all split up. We couldn't be repeating mistakes, in fact, we needed to find ways to avoid them.

"Don't worry about me. I'm going to be fine. We should leave in the next few days." I pictured Nudge and Angel in cages. "They need us."

Max spoke reluctantly. "I know. We should probably get everything together tomorrow and drive out the next morning."

"Just think about it, Max," I said. "Mike and Eli can expose this to the government. Itex will finally get what it deserved. And then we can finally live without running and hiding."

"What are you going to do after all of this is over?"

"Why would you ask that?"

"I don't know." Her head returned to my chest.

This was the first time either of us had mentioned the future. The thought had always dwindled in the back of our minds, but I didn't have the guts to talk about it. We had only found each other a few months ago. Things could change, but not that I wanted them to.

"Well, Max," I replied, thinking about what I was going to say. "After all of this, I'm planning on sticking around you."

She sounded relieved when she spoke. "I was just wondering if you felt the same way."

I smiled. "You worry too much."

Max laughed. I could tell she was smiling by the way she talked. "Oh shut up."

"Goodnight, Max," I grinned.

Still laughing, "Goodnight, Fang."

* * *

---Angel's POV---

I awoke in a new room filled with padded white walls. This place seemed different. Had Itex transported us to another facility overnight? I looked around. Nudge was next to me, curled in a ball, sleeping. At least she was ok. My biggest fear was to wake up without her. Right now, she was dreaming about Iggy. I had to smile, because even in desperate times, it was hard not to smile upon the small things that seemed to give just a little shimmer of hope.

The door opened to the room and a guard brought in food, setting it on the floor. His head is blank, void of thoughts or feelings. He had to be brainwashed or something. It was people like that who scared me. Much like Jeb, whose head I could never get into. Then again, I didn't need to hear everyone's thoughts. Some of them…well let's just say twisted.

The aroma of the food made Nudge stir. She sat and rubbed her eyes.

"Angel!" Nudge exclaimed, throwing her arms around me.

I hugged her back. Rarely were we just put in a room together like this. Most of the time, we were stuck in cages placed next to each other.

But we knew it wouldn't last long and food wasn't offered too often, so we dug in, trying to split it fairly. It was hard to say when the next time we would get a half decent meal.

* * *

---Iggy's POV---

Mom was disappointed that we were all leaving so soon, but Ella seemed the most upset about it. I sat with her in the kitchen, late one night after a long dinner with everyone.

"Be careful," she pleaded.

"I'm going to be fine," I assured her. "We'll be back before you know it."

Ella took my hand, to my surprise. I didn't mind though. "You better come back in one piece."

I gave a small laugh. "Don't worry, I will."

And then, without any warning, Ella leaned in and kissed me.

* * *

**Thanks for reading. More to come soon. =D**


	45. Chapter 45

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 45**

By MyNameIsCAL

---Gazzy's POV---

I watched Iggy say goodbye to Ella. She had his hand as they walked out of the house. The others are too busy with each other, Max talking to Fang, Cal and Ted arguing playfully, Chuck talking to Kerry shooting the breeze, and Mike and Eli loading our things between the two vans. Yet I had no one. It was funny how people changed.

Iggy hugged Ella and thinking that no one was looking, he leaned down and kissed her. I looked away, thinking about Nudge. She would be crushed. Maybe beyond crushed. If it weren't for Angel, Iggy would be the only thing that kept Nudge going. She was going to be devastated if she knew the relationship had grown between him and Ella.

It was only until Ella and Iggy approached the vans when everyone noticed them, except they weren't interlocked anymore. I watched as their hands dropped to their sides, unseen by everyone but me.

"It was good to see you." Iggy hugged Max and me quickly before awkwardly embracing Fang who gave her a one armed hug. She moved on to Iggy, their embrace just a little longer than the others. Ella then directed her attention to Max's FBI buddies. "And it was nice to meet all of you."

"Well, thank you for having us," Chuck bowed, laughing. "I'm sure we'll meet again."

And then we filed into the vans our first destination to look for Nudge and Angel. We were following some map Mike and Eli had dug up on FBI computers. The only reason we had decided to follow the locations on it was because the closest location happened to be the old school we had been trapped in so many years before now. But that seemed like lifetimes ago.

* * *

---Max's POV---

"Hey, I got a copy of the map from Mike." Ted handed it to Cal who passed it back.

I opened it and Gazzy and Fang leaned in to look.

"Map?" Iggy questioned.

Gazzy pointed. "So that's the school."

I nodded.

"I think I've been to this other location," Gazzy pointed to another dot. "It was supposed to be an abandoned warehouse."

"That's gonna be our second stop," I said. "We're working our way up the west coast."

I scanned the rest of the map. California had the most locations on the west coast. Washington had one. It was going to be a long journey. Deep down inside I got the feeling that this wasn't going to bring us fast results. But it was a start.

"How many locations are there total?" Fang asked, his voice a little hoarse.

There was another one in Nevada, one outside Chicago, one in Alaska, two in New York, and one in New Jersey. I thought for a moment. "There are five more if you don't count the two in California and the one in Washington."

Fang nodded and closed his eyes. "I'm gonna sleep."

I felt him lean against me, his head leaning against the padding on the side of the van. Gazzy took the map and folded it up.

"It's probably going to take two days to get there," Ted informed me. "We'll either stop somewhere to sleep or take turns driving. But there are so many of us we would cause too much attention."

"Well, there's plenty of room in the van," Cal commented. "Look at Fang, he's already sleeping."

Fang's head rested on my shoulder now. He had sort of just slumped over after a while. I couldn't help smiling. Right now, Fang looked peaceful. Although there were times when I would watch him sleep and he still seemed to look worried or distressed. But awake or asleep, Fang was always looked exhausted.

"He doesn't sleep much," I said.

"I can tell," Cal agreed. "It'll get better. Don't you worry."

I gave Cal a small smile.

* * *

---Iggy's POV---

I hadn't thought about Nudge in a while and then Gazzy mentioned her, talking about how she always talked about me when he had been able to follow them. I wondered if I should feel guilty, because honestly, I didn't feel guilty at all. At least Gazzy didn't know about what was going on between Ella and me. I'm sure anyone could have guessed our feelings, but there was just too much to deal with to make them worry about Ella or me.

"I miss them," Gazzy almost whispered.

"I miss them too."

"Itex is gonna pay for all of this." Gazzy had always been a fighter.

I only nodded, drifting off into my thoughts.

* * *

---Fang's POV---

Max woke me up as we stopped to grab some food at a rest area. I got out to stretch my legs, but I stayed in the van, too tired to walk across the parking lot. Actually, Max had forced me to stay. I wondered how tired I looked today.

"How's it going?" Call appeared out of nowhere, climbing into the back of the van.

I yawned. "It's alright. Not exactly the best sitting in a car for hours and hours. My leg hurts."

Cal shrugged. "Maybe I can get Ted to stop more often."

"Nah, I'll be alright." I wish everyone would be as nice as Cal. There was nothing she wouldn't try to do to make someone feel better.

"Well, if you ever need to stop, just tell me." Cal suddenly grinned. "Ted can never say no to me."

I forced a smile, remembering what Ted had told me when I had first met him in the hospital and how he and Cal had become friends. Their story seemed like a fairytale now, so impossibly perfect. I wished things had worked out that way for the flock and me.

Then again, I'm pretty sure I believed there was a reason for everything.

* * *

**Ah, finally and update. If you can't remember how Ted and Cal became friends, return to Chapter 5. Sorry for the delay in the update. Thanks for reading. More to come soon!**


	46. Chapter 46

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 46**

By MyNameisCAL

---Max's POV---

It was almost surreal, being back at the school. As expected, it had been abandoned. There was a room with empty filing cabinets, scorch marks on the floor. They had burned evidence, but hadn't burned the whole building down. I walked down an isle of cages. They were all empty. I touched one, remembering how it had been us in the cages, struggling.

It was clear we were all a little anxious to be here. Fang leaned heavily on his crutch, staring at this once cage. I realized he was staring at the cages we had been in so many years ago. Even now, I could still remember how we had become friends. Those nights of being afraid to sleep. He may have been the silent one, but when he did speak, he meant it.

"I thought we would never come back here," he whispered almost. "To think that there may have been hundreds of experiments tortured here since we had left. And what happened to them?"

Yet his question was barely a question. I knew what he was implying. The thought made me cringe.

* * *

---Gazzy's POV---

I didn't tell them, but this place had been up and running a year ago. Itex covered their tracks fast. In fact, this was the first place where I had found Angel and Nudge. Out on a whim I had come here and it was just luck that they were here. They had been several places before I found them.

To walk the hallways in this horrid place again made me jumpy. Maybe Jeb or Marian Janssen would jump out and grab me, force me down some underground tunnel, and I'd end up alone again.

"It's strange being here," Iggy remarked. "It's empty though."

The cages are the most haunting. Max and Fang stood by one of them and I realized it was where we had been held. I couldn't bear to look at them. It hurt too much. Instead, I turned and went down the hall, Iggy following. Most of the rooms or empty or there's damaged equipment. It looked like some things had been raided, as if everyone was in a hurry to leave. And they probably had been in a hurry to leave.

Mike and Eli were fiddling with an old computer. They took it apart. I looked around them and realized they had taken apart all the towers.

"I think we might be able to salvage this one," Eli frowned. "The others are toast, literally."

Mike began to unscrew a few things. I continued to pass the room.

"I still have nightmares about this damned place," Iggy admitted.

We reached the end of the hall. "Me too."

* * *

---Fang's POV---

This place was beyond creepy. The fact that the cages were still here scared the shit out of me.

"So this is where it all started?" Chuck asked.

Max shrugged. "For us at least."

"I can't believe they would keep you in cages like that," Cal seemed shocked. "How could they be so cruel?"

We stood in silence. I had stopped asking that question to myself years ago.

* * *

---Max's POV---

It took us a few hours to search the old School top to bottom. Most things left were useless or broken. Nothing gave us any information. But it appeared that it hadn't been long ago since Itex had been here. The computers had been fairly new. Mike and Eli were now in the van, trying to get information out of the hard drives they pulled. We sat, legs hanging out of the van, eating some sandwiches we had bought on the way here.

"You gotta eat," I begged Fang.

He took the sandwich I held out to him, almost reluctantly.

"After you're all finished, we're going to start heading to Washington," Ted hopped out of the other van. "Mike said he can get us on a plane to Alaska and then back to Nevada."

"Really?" Gazzy seemed skeptical.

"There's unused FBI plans there," Ted explained. "We could probably fly it around the US if we wanted to."

Iggy laughed. "Is the government really that insecure?"

"Everything's a fucking conspiracy these days," Cal grinned.

Ted sighed as he sat down next to Cal. "Must you have such a colorful vocabulary?"

Cal punched Ted lightly. "Yes, I must."

He suppressed a smile and started to eat his own sandwich.

* * *

---Gazzy's POV---

Everyone in the van was asleep except for myself and Cal, who was now driving. Fang had an arm around Max, her head rested against his chest, his head rested on hers. They looked peaceful. Maybe sleeping was the only time Fang relaxed.

The radio was on, playing quietly. Cal hummed along, singing the words every now and then. Ted had his head rested against the window, snoring. Iggy was slumped over, letting out a loud snore every now and then.

"So what keeps you up so late?" Cal questioned, turning off the radio.

I shrugged. "I don't know. Why are you up?"

"I don't sleep much in college."

"Don't you have to go back?"

Cal chuckled. "I'll get back eventually. I don't go to class anyway. Just show up for tests and exams."

"Really?"

She continued to laugh. "Yes, really. But I don't recommend it. Ted certainly doesn't approve."

"I've never been to school. I wouldn't going to college for a while," I said.

"Ah, that's true," she replied. "Well, if you ever go to college."

"Thanks," I nodded.

"Mhm." She turned to the right. "We're going to be stopping at a motel soon."

I started to wake everyone up. It would be nice to sleep in a bed tonight.

* * *

**Thanks for reading!!!**


	47. Chapter 47

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 47**

By MyNameIsCAL

---Iggy's POV---

It was starting to get colder the farther north we went. The rain turned to snow when we finally reached Washington. I can't remember the last time I felt snow, but it was nice.

"These vans aren't for driving in snow," Ted muttered. "Call Mike and ask him how much farther til the airport."

Max answered before Cal could call. "It's supposed to take three hours from where we are. But the snow is obviously going to delay us. The Itex location is another two hours from the airport."

Ted sounded annoyed. "I hate snow."

"Oh, but it's so pretty," Cal commented.

Sighing, Ted replied. "I guess we'll just stop at the airport today. If we can even get there."

"I'll see if I can tune into some weather station or something," Cal offered. "Although those weather people are wrong half the time."

I laughed. Maybe I was the only one who was enjoying our trip.

* * *

---Fang's POV---

The storm hit hard just as we made it to the airport. It took us double the time to get there. We pulled into one of the airplane hangars. Two agents stood waiting for us. Mike and Eli hopped out of their van, greeting them like old friends. I guess they knew we were coming.

I was the last to get out of the van. My leg was stiff.

"Whoa, careful there," Max grabbed me by the arm. "Watch the ice."

I looked down. The van had tracked in some ice. It was melting, but slowly. It wasn't much warmer in here than the outside.

"Thanks," I muttered.

We followed Mike and Eli down a hallway and into another building. The agents showed us to the kitchen.

"We don't have a lot. But you can cook whatever you'd like. After the snow stops, we'll get some more," one of the agents said. "We'll be around if you need us."

"Alright, thanks," Mike said.

The two agents disappeared down another hallway.

"I'll cook," Iggy suddenly spoke. "Gazzy, what's in the fridge?"

The two of them moved to the fridge while the rest of us sat, exhausted even though we had spent the whole day sitting in a van.

"Max," Ted sounded really tired. "I really think we oughta call Captain Ramirez up. We could cover more ground with his help."

"How so?"

"He can call in more agents. We can make this big."

"But can those other agents be trusted?"

Ted hesitated. "No. But the captain can be."

"Are you sure?"

Ted ran a hand through his hair. "We're going to need more help once we find Angel and Nudge. There's no way we can break them out just by ourselves."

Max looked deep in thought. "He's going to take over. Ramirez will want it to be his operation, not ours because we're not agents anymore."

"Not if I talk to him," Mike said.

"What makes you different from Max and Ted?" I asked.

"Ramirez is only ranked over you because he was put in charge of your operation. Eli and I rank over him," Mike explained. "And so this is our operation so he'll have to report to us."

"But can we trust him?" Max and her trust issues.

"Of course we can trust him," Mike insisted. "He worked with our father. Ramirez was the last man to see our father alive. They worked together for years. If it weren't for him, we wouldn't have had a body to bury."

Eli continued. "In fact the only reason we out rank Ramirez was because he refused to take charge of an entire headquarters like us. I mean, we're not even an official division, but the FBI owed it to us. Small operations come through and we oversee them, but that's it. They thought Ramirez was going to be director someday. But some people say he never got over the death of our father."

"Alright, then call him," Max sighed.

* * *

---Max's POV---

I woke up to Fang tripping over one of the backpacks. It was nearly four in the morning. He was sprawled on the ground, cursing.

"Are you ok?" I pulled the blankets off me and turned on the lights.

Fang rolled onto his back. "I think so."

I peeked over the side of the bed at him. He was massaging his leg.

"This is what I get for not sleeping," Fang grumbled.

I helped him get back onto the bed. The room was small, claustrophobic almost. It just happened he fell where there was nothing to hit his head on.

"I don't like this place," Fang said after a while.

"Why not?"

"It's too small."

"We'll be out of here in the morning," I assured him.

He pulled the blankets over us and then took my hand. "We should get one of those big mansions up in the mountains or something in California when we're done with Itex. Some place where we can go to the beach every day."

I felt myself smile. "We should."

And that was the first time Fang had ever mentioned the future to me. It actually sounded nice, exciting even. I squeezed his hand.

Fang grinned and leaned over, kissing me. "Now you should sleep. We have a long day tomorrow."

I turned off the light and Fang's head rested on my shoulder. But instead of sleeping, I spent the next few hours thinking about him and everything we had ahead of us.

* * *

**Thanks for reading!!!**


	48. Chapter 48

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 48**

By MyNameIsCAL

---Fang's POV---

Everyone was in a different mood the next morning. Iggy was on the phone, probably with Ella, talking and smiling. Gazzy seemed to be annoyed, sitting by himself at the end of the table. Max sat next to me, her hand knotted in mine, thinking about how things were going to play out with Ramirez joining us, her grip tightening and loosening depending on her stress level. Cal looked like she was lecturing Ted, who sat there, listening patiently. There was Mike and Eli, joking as usual while Kerry and Chuck had their own conversation, laughing every now and then.

"Why don't you trust Ramirez?" I suddenly asked, not really thinking about what I was saying.

Max let out a sigh. "I don't know. I really should, but it's just paranoia. I'll get over it."

"You're not paranoid," I insisted. "I still think Itex might come out from under my bed and snatch me."

She elbowed me. "Oh, shut up."

I smiled. "Alright, I'm not that paranoid, but hey, we all are."

She rolled her eyes, but under that grimace was a growing smile.

* * *

---Gazzy's POV---

The snow has us stuck inside until a path was cleared to the main roads. The plows were stuck somewhere else on the other side of the airport. It was going to take a while to access them. I wasn't the only restless one though. Max paced the room, looking out the window every time she passed it. Fang sat watching her, his hand massaging his knee, the lines of pain on his forehead creasing more and more.

And then there was Iggy, talking away on the phone with Ella. He was going to break Nudge's heart. I was sure of it now. It made me feel terrible.

PAGE BREAK!!!

---Max's POV---

We crammed into the vans, ready to go to our next destination. I got the feeling we weren't going to find anything though. Probably just another empty warehouse. But we'd be kicking ourselves if we didn't look.

"How do we know this isn't a complete waste of time?" Fang reiterated my thoughts out loud.

I shook my head. "We don't know."

Fang put an arm around me, his head resting on top of mine.

* * *

---Iggy's POV---

There was nothing to find when we reached the location. Whatever was there before had been demolished, no evidence of what had been there before. Snow was starting to fall again. I stood outside the van, waiting for Max and Ted to finish surveying the area. It always seemed quieter when there was snow falling. Peaceful, almost.

With nothing to do, we filed back into the vans. No one spoke. We all knew a lot of disappoint lay ahead. Life had been tough on us for a long time. There was no reason for it to suddenly let up and lead us to Nudge and Angel quickly. And while we all knew we'd be going to places and not finding anything, all of us were certain we were going to find Angel and Nudge, even if it meant going to every single state in the whole damned US.

Although I got the sense Gazzy was frustrated. He had been able to follow Angel and Nudge for so long and then he lost them. The poor kid couldn't decide if he wanted to be mad at himself or mad at us. The world, for him, was spinning too fast. Solid ground for him had been pulled away for too long. He wouldn't rest until we found Angel and Nudge and made sure they were safe.

"Do you think they're angry at me?" he questioned.

"No," I said. "You're here with us. They'd want that. And you're getting help to find them, to rescue them, they'd want that too."

"I guess so," he sighed. "I'm just tired. It feels like I've just been going in circles."

"We're gonna find them." And that's what he needed to hear.

"Yeah, we will."

* * *

---Fang's POV---

I remember one night, when it was snowing in Chicago, I had to sleep in an alleyway because I couldn't get down the stairs into the abandoned subway platform with my wheelchair. It was before I had built up enough strength to support myself with one leg. Wedged between some boxes and the dumpster, another homeless man and I slept back to back, trying to keep warm. The fact that either of us survived that night had been somewhat of a miracle. I can't remember his name, but I would be the last person to ever see him alive because a car hit him the next day.

It seemed like there were more things reminding me of all the unfortunate things that happened to me than the things that made me happy. Or maybe I was just bitter. Didn't you ever wish you could turn back the clock or travel back in time to fix things? Maybe everyone would be better off if Max had saved Angel and Nudge instead. Just maybe, I'd be better off dead.

* * *

**I know it's not the best chapter in the world, but you need a filler here and there to build up to the big parts. I don't like abruptness, doesn't flow well. Thanks for reading.**


	49. Chapter 49

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand – Chapter 49**

By MyNameIsCAL

---Max's POV---

We were heading out to Alaska now. The cars had been secured in the holding are of the plane. Ramirez would await us at the airport, joining us on our search for Nudge and Angel. Mike and Eli were excited to see him, but me, I was anxious. And then there was Fang. There was something that was bothering him. Maybe now was the time to ask him because he had nowhere to run to.

"What's got you so worked up?" I asked quietly.

"Nothing," he answered. "Just thinking too much."

"Thinking about what?"

He sighed. "Things I shouldn't think about. I mean, you've forgiven me already, and hell, we can all blame ourselves and each other, but I've just been thinking about what if it had been me instead of Nudge and Angel."

I blinked. "You'd be dead."

"Well, I've just been thinking," he concluded. "It's nothing really."

But I could tell it was really bothering him. I reached for his hand, settling my head on his shoulder. He squeezed my hand.

* * *

---Iggy's POV---

Planes were too loud. I would rather be out there flying. It had been too long since I'd been able to spread my wings and fly for hours, but I didn't have the heart to leave Fang all alone on the plane. He still seemed like he needed company even when there were people around him.

"Ever wish it was you instead of them?" Gazzy suddenly questioned.

"I think we've all wished that at some point." I replied.

"I guess so." Gazzy sounded angry and then the next thing that came out of his mouth would explain why. "But not Max."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because she's the only one that didn't suffer," he said bitterly. "I mean look at Fang, he's falling apart. Even now, he's still struggling. You went to the circus! I failed at trying to rescue Angel and Nudge. But Max, she actually went and did something. She wasn't even looking for us!"

He was right. I wouldn't have spent my entire life at the circus. It was easy to blame Max though. But in a way, none of us had really made the attempt to go after each other. Sure, maybe a few days of searching, but then, that was it, we parted ways. All of us knew where Dr. M's house was. I only went because I knew it was time to find them all again. Somehow, we all got that feeling. We did need time apart, but we chose the wrong time to do it.

* * *

---Fang's POV---

I watched my heart rate rise as the plane took off. It was all in my head, really. Any normal person wouldn't worry about this.

"Stop looking at it." Max let go of my hand and started to remove it.

"Hey," I pulled away. "What are you doing?"

She reached for my wrist and continued to remove it. "You'll be fine."

"Max…"

But she ignored me.

"No, Max, stop."

And she finally pulled it off, revealing the newest cuts I had done only recently, out of stress maybe. She had been asleep and I couldn't resist. A moment of desperation, maybe it was.

"Fang…" She stared for a while. "When…"

"A couple of days ago." Alright, that was a lie. It was only last night.

She turned off the beeping monitor and shoved it into her pocket and pulled down my sleeve, her head returning to my shoulder surprisingly. And then she said, "I don't want to lose my trust in you, Fang."

"I'm sorry, Max."

She took my hand and said nothing for the rest of the flight.

* * *

---Gazzy's POV---

It was like one storm to the next. Snow was falling as we touched down in Alaska. We filed off the plane and into the vans. Max's friend, what's his name? Oh, Ramirez, had a hotel booked for us.

"Why a hotel?" Max asked.

Mike seemed annoyed. "Well, do you want to sleep here?"

Fang opened his mouth to say something, but then sighed.

It took about five minutes to get to the hotel. Ramirez introduced himself to us. He seemed like a nice guy. After some small talk, he gave us our room keys and we squeezed into the elevator, minus Eli, Mike, and Ramirez who were heading to the bar.

There was an uneasy silence in the elevator, at least between the flock. Max leaned against Fang, her eyes closed. He had a hand on her shoulder. Something was going on between them. But then again, when wasn't there something going on between them? Even Iggy seemed to be thinking about something.

"I'll let you in on something later," Iggy whispered.

I glanced at Iggy, but he continued to look deep in thought, like he was trying to stare through the floor of the elevator even though he couldn't see.


	50. Chapter 50

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand – Chapter 50**

By MyNameIsCAL

---Fang's POV---

I dropped our bags on the floor and locked the door. Max pulled the monitor which she had ripped off my wrist earlier today and handed it to me.

"I'm sorry, Max."

She suddenly pulled me into a hug, burying her face in my chest.

"Max…"

I couldn't tell if she was crying or not.

"I should have talked to you instead," I continued after she didn't respond. "But, I don't know, I just…"

"It's ok." She muttered.

I shook my head. "No, it's not ok."

No response.

"Hey, are you ok?" I wrapped my arms around her. "Max, why are you crying?"

"I don't know."

I leaned my crutch against the wall and led her over to the bed, sitting her down on the edge. "It's been a long day." I wiped the tears running down her cheeks. "Things are gonna be alright in the end."

She sniffled and lay back in the bed, pulling me down with her so that we lay side by side. And we stayed like that, in silence.

* * *

---Iggy's POV---

It had been so long since I had stayed in a hotel. The last time was probably years ago when the flock was on the run. I moved to the couch, sinking into it as soon as I lay down.

"What were you saying in the elevator?" Gazzy asked.

Gazzy took a seat on the bed. "Fang wanted to keep this quiet, but he suffers from depression."

"Really?" Gazzy seemed incredulous.

"Yeah," I replied. "Don't tell him or Max that I told you. But being in those vans, cramped for hours, tensions are gonna start running high and I don't want anyone to upset him."

"Has he like, tried to kill himself?"

I paused. "Not that I know of. I'm pretty sure I didn't get the whole story from him."

* * *

---Max's POV---

Ramirez insisted we have lunch together the next day. If it weren't for the snow, I would have declined quickly. Fang was in no condition to be around a lot of people. For the last ten minutes he had been standing in front of the mirror, staring at his bare arms, muscles toned from the years in his wheelchair. I held out a long sleeved shirt for him.

"What a stupid thing to do," he muttered, taking the shirt from me. "I'll forever be stuck hiding these damned scars because they bother people."

"They don't bother me," I told him.

He looked surprised, but only for a moment. After another moment, he pulled the shirt on, letting me button it up.

"If they don't bother you, then they shouldn't bother me," he sighed.

I took his hand. "Don't let it bother you."

* * *

---Gazzy's POV---

It was obvious that none of us, with the exception of Ramirez, Mike, and Eli, wanted to be eating with each other. We all had things on our minds. Guilt was creeping back to me as I thought about Fang. He had already fallen apart. Max would be the only one who would be able to piece him back together. The more and more I thought about it, the less and less I wanted to blame someone.

I stared at the menu, not really feeling hungry. Iggy was muttering how the food was going to be bad, no matter how expensive it was. The food was pricey, but Ramirez insisted he was going to pay for everything, and for the hell of it, I order a steak, one of the most expensive things on the menu.

Somehow Ramirez ended up sitting next to Fang. Max was on Fang's other side. Iggy was between Max and me, Ted and Cal to my right, followed by Mike and Eli who completed the circle around the table. I watched as Fang would anxiously glance at his heart rate monitor, like he was checking the time or something. Eventually, Max leaned over and told him to stop.

"It's great to finally meet all of you," Ramirez smiled. "Max, shall you introduce me to your friends?"

Max replied quickly. I wondered if Ramirez could even catch anything of what he said. Before more questions could come, the waiter brings our drinks and some bread. Everyone grabbed for the bread, something to busy themselves during the wait for the food.

And that was when Ramirez spilled his drink, all over Fang, freshly brewed coffee.

"Fuck," I heard Fang say under his breath.

Max scooted her chair backwards.

"I'm so sorry. Take off your shirt," Ramirez suggested. "You won't have the coffee pressing up against your skin. Jeez…Waiter! Can we have some help!?"

I watched as Max started to undo the buttons. And I will never forget the scars that marked Fang's arms, even though I only saw them for a few seconds. He threw the shirt at Ramirez and stormed out of the restaurant, Max hurrying after him.

"Did you see that?" I asked.

But Ramirez had been too occupied with getting the coffee cleaned up with Mike and Eli. Neither of them had seen what I had seen.

Cal tapped me on the shoulder. "It's not something Fang talks about. More of a sensitive subject. I wouldn't ask him about it if I were you."

Iggy shook his head. Ted had just explained things to him too. Needless to say, Fang and Max didn't return to finish lunch.

* * *

**Thanks for reading!**


	51. Chapter 51

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand – Chapter 51**

By MyNameIsCAL

***Right, I'm sure none of you would remember, but I sorta left out Chuck and Kerry, the gay couple (who are not to be confused with Mike and Eli who are brothers) in the past two chapters because as usual, I write my fanfiction 3 in the morning –sigh- but they're still there. Yeah, so don't get confused when I suddenly mention them being there again. They were there all along at the table with Ramirez, I just forgot to say so. Too many characters…that is the biggest flaw of this fanfiction, at least I think so. Anyway, thanks.**

* * *

---Max's POV---

Fang sat quietly as I rinsed his arms with cool water. He was angry, but the angrier he got, his heart rate rose.

"Deep breaths," I said. "No one saw, I promise."

He gritted his teeth and then inhaled slowly.

There was a knock on the door.

"Don't let them in," Fang pleaded.

I checked to see who it was. "It's Ted. He has your crutch."

Fang sucked in another breath. "Alright, you can let him in."

Ted addressed Fang right away. "Are you okay?"

With a shrug, Fang looked down at his arms. They were bright red, the scars making it seem worse than it really was. He let Ted examine his arms.

"A few blisters might form, but you'll be ok," Ted assured him. "Just don't irritate the burned area."

It wasn't the burns that bothered Fang though.

"I'll bring your food back," Ted said as he headed to the door. "Give me a call if you need anything else."

"Alright, thanks," Fang said. He was so quiet I wondered if Ted had heard him.

* * *

---Gazzy's POV---

"Is he alright?" Ramirez questioned Ted.

Ted hesitated. "He'll be fine."

We had the waiter wrap Max and Fang's food into take out boxes. Ted picked them up and started to head back out of the restaurant.

"Something's off," Cal muttered, picking at her food.

"What do you mean?"

"We'll find out from Ted later," she answered, not looking at me.

Ramirez resumed his conversation with Mike and Eli. They were laughing and making jokes, reminiscing old times. Even Chuck and Kerry were immersed in their own conversation. I felt left out, like always. Everyone always had someone else. I wondered if Cal could sense my loneliness because she muttered under her breath, "That bastard acts like nothing happened."

"You have such a colorful vocabulary," Iggy muttered quietly, a grin growing.

The tension seemed to easy up.

* * *

---Nudge's POV---

"Angel." I poked her. "Angel!"

She muttered something.

"Angel, wake up!" I shook her.

She opened her eyes.

"Angel, they brought us food," I whispered. "And water."

She didn't say anything, but her voice invaded my mind. _I'm tired, Nudge._

For days, Angel had refused to eat. I was getting tired of talking through our thoughts. She was giving up.

"No, Angel, you will talk to me!" I was almost screaming now. "You will eat and you will not give up!"

There was no response.

"ANGEL!!!"

I held a cup of water up to her lips and poured it in. She swallowed some of it and then pushed me away.

"Angel, why?" I whimpered, holding out a piece of bread.

She turned to face me and said, "They're going to kill us, Nudge."

* * *

---Fang's POV---

I sat on the bed now, Max pacing the room as we waited for Ted to come back with our food. The pain the burns had caused turned to numbness. I stared at my arms, thinking to myself that they needed to be kept hidden. To me, they showed weakness, like they were actually going to hold me back from something.

"Can you get my other long sleeved shirt?" I asked Max.

She shook her head. "You'll irritate the burns."

I let out a sigh, my attention turning back to my arms.

"Relax." She sat on the bed next to me. "Don't think about them."

"Why don't they bother you?" I pressed. "Most people…It makes them uncomfortable or scares them."

Max shrugged. "Because I love you, Fang. They're part of who you are and what you've been through. You can't change that."

I guess she was right.

* * *

---Max's POV---

Fang had been asleep long ago. He was still angry at himself and Ramirez. In the end, it would turn into resentment for Ramirez. Maybe it was better that way. At least Fang wouldn't wear himself out by beating himself up.

I sat in Ted and Cal's room now, talking quietly over a late dinner. Fang hadn't eaten much of his food for lunch and insisted he just finish it for dinner. Not that he really touched it. But it wasn't the time to push him.

"Gazzy saw," Cal told me. "I told him not to say anything to Fang."

"Oh, alright, thanks." Fang wasn't going to be happy about that.

"Have you seen Ramirez since lunch?" Ted asked.

I shook my head.

"He's too occupied with Mike and Eli," Cal rolled her eyes. "This is like some kinda family reunion for them."

Ted sighed. "Ramirez is like their father almost. You know, he watches over them, ever since their father was killed."

Cal shook her head. "He didn't really seem to give a damn about what happened to Fang at lunch."

"He doesn't know what Fang is going through," Ted replied. "He doesn't understand."

Cal fell silent. Neither one wanting to admit that the other was right.

* * *

**Woo chapter 51 and still going strong (sorta)! Thanks for reading!!! Updates soon!**


	52. Chapter 52

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand – Chapter 52**

By MyNameIsCAL

---Iggy's POV---

You could say we picked the worst time to go to Alaska. It was dark, with a few hours of sunlight, the worst blizzards were starting, leaving us stuck in the hotel for at least the next week. Mike and Eli had seemed to have forgotten what our goal really was. Ramirez was becoming a distraction. Even Chuck and Kerry, who had been very open to seeing their old commanding officer, drifted away from them and started to hang with the flock. We weren't even eating dinner with each other. Sometimes we would in small groups, but mostly by ourselves.

We were wasting time, being stuck here. Max grew anxious. Her worry grew for Fang, who refused to step outside the hotel room since the incident with Ramirez, and the worry that came that we might be missing our chance to find Angel and Nudge. But most of her stress came from Fang.

I sat across from Max in the same restaurant where Ramirez spilled coffee on Fang. It sounded like she needed someone to talk to, other than Fang. I wasn't going to let her eat alone, especially with Ramirez at the bar with Mike and Eli now.

"This was supposed to be faster," she muttered. "We should be in Chicago. Angel and Nudge should be here with us."

"A lot of things should have and shouldn't have happened," I reminded her.

She let out a deep sigh. "And Fang isn't going to last much longer. You know, the other day, he started talking about settling down. Somewhere in the mountains, within distance of the beach. Do you know how nice that sounds? How bad I want that?"

It didn't surprise me and I said, "Fang wants stability."

She agreed. I got the feeling in her silence she was nodding. "He needs stability and the way things are going now, it's not even stable for us."

Max was right. But she wasn't giving up. It was just how she felt. We would keep going until we got Nudge and Angel back or we got our revenge on Itex.

* * *

---Angel's POV---

Nudge was so hopeful that Iggy or Max or Fang would come bursting through our cell door. It hurt to against her hope, so I stopped giving up and played along. The scientists were almost done with us. We no longer had to run through mazes or fly for them. It had been too long since we'd been in one place. All their thoughts screamed _It's a shame we have to retire them_.

"I think this is the best food yet," Nudge babbled. "Beef and bread! They even gave us extra water today."

The food increasingly got better. How could Nudge not see what was going on?

"Mhm," I agreed, keeping myself from saying anything that might hurt her.

Although what I had said days before still lingered in the back of Nudge's mind. She had nightmares about what I'd said. Now I wished I hadn't said anything at all.

"Do you want more bread, Angel?" Nudge asked, pausing from rambling.

"You can have it," I insisted. She needed it more than I did.

After eating her own cut, she hesitated to eat the extra piece of bread. Eventually, after a few minutes of contemplation and silence, Nudge began to eat it, talking about Iggy and how she wondered what had happened to the rest of the flock.

"What do you think happened to them?" Nudge questioned.

I thought for a moment. "That they're out there, somewhere, thinking about us."

* * *

---Fang's POV---

Max left me to have dinner with Iggy. She needed time away from me, I think. I couldn't say I was the best person to be around.

I lay in bed, breathing in an out slowly. The few daylight hours here made things depressing. More depressing than the weather usually is. Speaking of depressing, my depression meds were running low. There was no way we could get out of here to refill my prescription and quite frankly, I was tired of medication, especially now that I was taking one to keep my heart rate lower.

The darkness, when Max wasn't around, was my best friend. It was easier to be in the darkness because I wouldn't be tempted to stare at my scars and feel the want to cut again. I slipped up once and I certainly wasn't going to slip up again. No. That would disappoint Max more. For her, I wanted to be stronger, not emotionally broken and falling apart.

* * *

---Gazzy's POV---

I was watching TV in the room. There wasn't much on with limited channels. The news talked about the weather and politics. It would be another twenty four hours before it would stop snowing. At night, you could hear the wind pounding against the windows.

There's one channel that only shows movies. It went from comedies like The Rocker to science fiction like Wolverine. James Bond was just finishing up and Twilight was next. It was between this weather and the news that I watched.

Iggy knocked on the door, finally returning from dinner. Max was having a rough time being stuck here, especially with Fang. I guess Fang had more problems than I thought.

"How's Max?" I asked.

Iggy fell back on the couch with perfect aim. "Tired, stressed out, exhausted. We need to get out of here before someone goes insane. I think she's alright."

I hadn't talked to Max in a while. I made a mental note that I would go talk to her, maybe get something more out of her about Fang. I was curious, but I also still felt guilty, even though none of this could possibly be my fault anymore. But really, I did care what was going on with Fang. There was no reason for him to shut everyone but Max out.

* * *

**They're in Alaska! I had to stop myself from making a Sarah Palin joke. Ahem, thank you for reading! More to come soon!**


	53. Chapter 53

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand – Chapter 53**

By MyNameIsCAL

---Max's POV---

I lost track of time as I sat with Ted and Cal, talking about things when the smell of smoke filled the air. Sniffing, I asked them if they smelled anything.

Cal shook her head. "No, I'm sorry, I don't smell anything."

Sometimes I forgot that humans didn't have heightened senses. But I smelled smoke. It seemed to be getting stronger.

"I smell it now," Ted mumbled, standing.

And then the fire alarm went off. Cal started to grab their bags.

"Are you insane!" Ted exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. "We gotta get out of here!"

Cal dropped the bags and we burst into the hallway. The smoke didn't appear to be coming from our floor. We followed the crowd down the stairwell. I didn't see smoke until we hit the first floor. Hotel employees were trying to motion us out in an ordered fashion.

"Do not wander off!" One of the security guards shouted. "It's white out conditions! Stay in groups! Help is on the way!"

The wind knocked the breath out of me. It wasn't safe to be out here. A mass of people were huddling together, but Ted led us a couple feet in the opposite direction, locating our vans.

"Stand on this side, it'll block the wind more!" He said over the roar of the wind.

I could hear Iggy shouting my name.

"IG!" I called back.

He emerged from the heavy snow and I grabbed him by the arm. Ted was working on trying to get the van open.

"I don't have the keys," Ted muttered.

Iggy dug around in his pockets, pushing his way past Ted. Within seconds, the van door popped open.

"Alright, all of you, inside!" Ted opened the back door and held it from closing. "I'll try to find the others."

"No, I have to find Fang," I insisted.

"Max, you don't have a jacket on," Ted frowned.

But I ignored him and headed back towards the crowd.

"Fang!" I shouted.

The people around looked scared, or perhaps, just lost. They're all looking for someone and security is trying to keep them all contained, afraid to lose anyone. One of them insisted I join the crowd, but I push past him and continue shouting for Fang.

And then Fang came, stumbling away from all the people. I grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into a hug.

"Hey," he wrapped his arms around me, leaning onto me a little. "I'm alright, Max."

And then I could hear beeping.

He tightened his grip around me. "It's just touching that point. Nothing to be concerned about."

We stood for a moment, his weight on me as he took in deep breaths of air.

* * *

---Fang's POV---

I had been scared not being able to find Max at first. The snow and all the people disoriented me. People were pushing and shoving, everyone was trying to find out what was going on.

"Fang," Max sounded concerned now. "Are you dizzy? Does your chest hurt?"

I closed my eyes. Sure, I felt a little dizzy. But did my chest hurt? Not at all. She continued asking me questions, running through every symptom she could remember that would be associated with a heart attack.

"Max, I'm fine," I interjected. "Look, it's stopped beeping now."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Max still had her arms around me.

A gust of wind hit us and she didn't wait for my answer. "Come on, the others are waiting inside the van for us."

* * *

---Gazzy's POV---

Fang looked like someone had knocked him over when he came into the van with Max. He was limping badly, but there was no sign of his chest giving him any problems. I guess he didn't grab his crutches on the way out, but then again, none of us had grabbed anything.

"Max, you must be freezing," he said, pulling off his jacket as they settled in the seats across from me.

I watched as he draped his jacket over her shoulders, revealing his scars. There was a new one too, just below his heart rate monitor. She slid into his arms and then they were hidden again. And then Fang's eyes met mine. I looked away.

"It's ok, Gazzy," Fang said calmly. "Can't hide it forever."

When I didn't answer, he stretched his leg out with a wince. There was only silence. I wanted to say something, but I just didn't know what.

* * *

---Iggy's POV---

The fire was brought under control quickly. It wasn't long before Ramirez came knocking on our van door telling us they were letting people back in. The only damaged part of the hotel was the restaurant.

The snow had died down. It was still falling steadily, but according to Max, things were a lot clearer now.

Fang was exhausted. Max and I were practically supporting all his weight by the time we got back to the room. I wondered how long he had been walking about without his crutch. He muttered thank you as we set him on the bed.

Before I left, I turned towards Max again. "He's gonna be fine, Max. You'll only stress him out by stressing yourself out."

She sat on the bed next to him, stroking his hair. "I know. Thanks, Ig."

"Yup," I nodded. "Anytime. Goodnight, Max."

"Goodnight, Ig."

* * *

**Right, that was random, I know. But uhm, everything happens for a reason, yes? Anyway, I'm gonna get them out of Alaska soon and perhaps get something to lighten the mood in the next few chapters. Sound good? I know it's getting slow, but things gotta slow down before I can speed up again. Thanks for reading!**


	54. Chapter 54

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand – Chapter 54**

By MyNameIsCAL

---Max's POV---

The fire was soon forgotten as the snow slowed to a halt and the roads were cleared. Ramirez was eager to get going. It was nice to see we finally had something in common.

Fang was getting sick though. The stuffiness of the car only made it worse. He was slouched against me, his hand in mine. Every now and then he would squeeze my hand wincing in pain as we went over a bump.

"There's a gas station up ahead," Ted said. "Anyone need to get anything?"

"I need Advil," Fang muttered.

I spoke up. "Yeah, can we stop?"

Ted pulled into the parking lot. "Be back in fifteen minutes? I think I need coffee."

"Fang, do you want to stay here?" I whispered, nudging him a little.

He shook his head. "It's icy out there."

"I'll stay with him," Iggy offered. "The one thing I'll never figure out is ice."

"Alright, thanks," I said, following Ramirez out. "Do you want anything, Ig?"

He thought for a moment. "A bar of chocolate, please."

"Sure."

* * *

---Angel's POV---

The scientists had a change of plans suddenly. Nudge and I were shoved into one crate and thrown onto the back of a pickup truck. The thoughts of killing us had turned into thoughts of excitement.

"Angel, where are they taking us?" Nudge was in a panic. She thought they were going to kill us.

"They're bringing us to Chicago," I said, listening to the thoughts of the driver.

"Chicago?" Nudge repositioned herself, trying to make more room for me.

"Yeah," I replied. "And they're going to use us to lure Max in."

"What?!" Nudge grabbed me by the shoulders. "They found Max!"

It was complicated though. I didn't understand half the things going through any of the scientists' heads. All I knew was that once they got what they wanted, using us, at the end, it wouldn't matter if we were dead or alive.

* * *

---Fang's POV---

"Is it me, or does Ramirez give you an off feeling?" Iggy asked.

"Sure, I guess so," I agreed.

Iggy yawned stretching his legs. We had been in the car for a good two hours already. The wind howled against the side of the van. I shivered thinking about being out there. Or maybe it was just the cold I had.

"Gazzy's convinced he's going to screw us over," Iggy went on after a while.

"Maybe we should talk to Max," I suggested.

"Yeah, we should." Before I could say more, Ramirez got back into the van.

The rush of cold air inside made me cough. I closed my eyes, waiting for the fit to pass.

"So, you're blind?" Ramirez addressed Iggy.

"Yeah," Iggy sounded annoyed.

"You know, I know this doctor who does eye transplants and…"

Iggy scowled. "I'm perfectly fine the way I am, thanks."

Ramirez closed his mouth.

The tension died down as the door opened again, Max entering this time, fortunately.

"I got you coffee too," Max said, handing me the cup and the Advil.

I took the Advil, downed the coffee, and closed my eyes.

* * *

---Gazzy's POV---

Fang was asleep now, leaning up against Max. She draped a blanket over him, stroking his hair. Fang looked miserable. I felt bad for him, I really did. Max always looked like she was worrying. If she worried enough, those lines were going to become permanent and Max was too young for that.

And Ramirez. We needed to get rid of him. He was going to slow things down rather than speed them up. We already had enough people as it was, not to mention the humans outnumbered us. Ted and Cal were cool, even Chuck and Barry. Yet Mike and Eli were starting to bother me as they showed how close they were to Ramirez. But we needed Mike and Eli. They were the reason we had gotten here.

I couldn't put my finger on it. What bothered me about Ramirez? I just got a funny feeling from him. It was like he thought this was a joke or something. He was rambling about some story of his old days in the FBI. No one was really listening. I think Iggy was asleep too now, ear buds jammed in his ears. Ted was the only one making the effort to sound interested, and he was driving. Cal was fiddling with the radio, trying to find good music.

"You're not going to find any," I said.

"Why not?" she responded, twisting the dial.

"Because good music on the radio is impossible to find these days," I answered, thinking about how sometimes I'd be able to nab a radio from someone or somewhere. I always ended up listening to the news.

"Well, I can try," Cal insisted.

* * *

---Iggy's POV---

Ted wanted to drive through the night, even though Ramirez wanted to stop. Fang, who I thought would rather sleep in a hotel, actually agreed with Ted. But maybe it was only to defy Ramirez. I was hoping to get a chance to talk to Max about him, but I guess I would have to wait.

Fang was awake now, whispering back and forth with Max. I could pick up on their conversation, but I wasn't going to eavesdrop. If it was anything important, I know they would tell me. Gazzy was out cold now, head leaning against some jackets he had made into a makeshift pillow. That kid had been through more than I had. I wondered how he managed after all this time. Now that I thought about it, I guess it was a miracle none of us had ended up dead during out time apart, that is if you include that Angel and Nudge are still out there somewhere.

I missed Nudge. She was like my little sister, someone to look after and comfort. It gave me, I don't know, some sense of pride that I could do something for someone and make them laugh.

My phone began to ring. I answered quietly. "Hello?"

"Hey, it's Ella."

"Oh, hey, Ella," I smiled. "How's it going?"

"Good," she said, sounding relieved. "Mom wanted me to check up on all of you. We heard the snow finally slowed down over there."

"Oh, yeah it did," I said. "Finally. I was getting tired of it. Sort of useless if I can't see it."

She laughed. "Are you on the road?"

"Yup. Ted wants to keep driving through the night. We have to make up for lost time," I told her.

"Well, that's good then." Ella let out a sigh. "I miss you, Iggy."

"I miss you too."

* * *

**Thanks for reading!**


	55. Chapter 55

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand – Chapter 55**

By MyNameIsCAL

---Gazzy's POV---

"THERE IS NOTHING HERE!" Fang shouted, picking up a table and throwing it against the wall.

Max grabbed him by the arm before he could pick up the chairs.

"Hey, that was uncalled for," Ramirez frowned. He had just dodged one of the flying table legs.

Fang broke free of Max's grip and started to scream at Ramirez.

"Someone's gotta stop him before he hurts Ramirez," Iggy whispered.

"Fang, stop it!" Max began to reach for Fang again, but continued advancing towards Ramirez.

"YOU THINK YOU UNDERSTAND US, UNDERSTAND ME, BUT YOU DON'T!" Fang ranted on. "WELL YOU WOULDN'T LAST ONE DAY IN MY SHOES…"

"Fang!" Max said more sternly. She grabbed him by the arm again and he pushed her off. When she tried to stop him again, he turned and started to shout at her. And then Max slapped him across the face.

"That didn't sound good," Iggy commented.

"Fang, listen to me," Max spoke to him calmly.

"No, you listen to me!" Fang shot back, throwing a punch at Max.

He hit her in the eye and she stumbled backward a little. And then you could hear the beeping from Fang's heart rate monitor. He put a hand on his chest and closed his eyes.

"What is that?" Ramirez questioned quietly.

Cal was quick to tell him. "He has a heart condition. C'mon, let's get out of here."

Reluctantly, Max slung Fang's arm over her shoulders and led the way to the vans. It was like Fang hadn't punched her at all.

* * *

---Max's POV---

Thanks to Cal, Ramirez was in the other van now. I managed to calm Fang down, lowering his heart rate back to normal. He was ashamed of what had happened, clinging to me like a little child, shaking against me as he cried that he was sorry. I think seeing Fang like this hurt me more than the damage that his punch did. He had nothing to worry about. In a few days, all would be forgotten and we would be heading to Chicago.

Fang eventually tired himself out. He slept, almost pitifully against me.

Gazzy handed me one of those instant ice packs from the first aid kit.

"I thought we were supposed to be going to Nevada." Iggy was the first to speak since we had gotten inside the van with Fang all upset.

"Well we were gonna, but Ramirez said to go there and then back. I don't know, I guess at this rate, it doesn't make a difference," I told Iggy, pressing the ice pack to my swollen eye. "It's not like we know one place has a higher chance of them being there than the others."

Iggy shook his head. "I think it was a mistake to have Ramirez join us."

Gazzy was suddenly nodding in agreement.

"Well, there's not much we can now," I said.

Iggy frowned, but said no more.

* * *

---Nudge's POV---

We saw the outside world for the first time, well, in years probably. It was dark and dreary, rain falling from the sky, but Angel and I couldn't be happier to see that the outside world still existed. We were in some tall building overlooking what I guessed was Chicago.

The guy who had driven us set food down on the table for us in bags, grease dripping out of the bottom.

"Well, here's your food," he growled. "Eat up before she comes to talk to you."

"Who?" I asked, but he walked out and locked the door.

We sat at the table and opened the bag. It was fast food, but it was better than what they had been serving us when we were being brought place to place. It was all gone within minutes.

"What do you think they'll do to us?" I asked Angel.

She stared out the window. "I told you already. They're going to use us against Max and there's nothing we'll be able to do about it."

"Max will find a way to rescue us," I insisted.

But Angel only shrugged. "Maybe she will."

* * *

---Gazzy's POV---

We were on the plane heading to Chicago now. Iggy was asleep next to me, his iPod blasting loud enough that I could make out the songs he was listening to. If he didn't stop listening to music that loud he was going to be both blind and deaf.

Max was wrapping a blanket around Fang. According to her, he was now running a fever. He was asleep, slouched in his chair.

"Max, can I talk to you?" Ramirez took a seat across from her.

"Sure," Max agreed, not giving away and sign of annoyance. She had a black eye, making her look more exhausted than usual.

"Tell me about your friend here," Ramirez motioned to Fang.

"Well, what do you want to know?" Max sighed.

"I'm just worried he's going to hurt you." Well that didn't really answer Max's question, but it definitely explained what he was annoying her about.

"Well, thanks for your concern," she told him.

"I'm serious, Max. Look at you, he's eating away at you emotionally and after this is all over, think twice about settling down with someone like him. He's abusive."

"He's not abusive." Max raised her voice.

Ted walked passed me and took a seat next to Ramirez, talking in almost a whisper. "I know what you saw today didn't look good, Captain, but Fang was right. If you could even last one day, in his shoes, you might understand a few things a lot better. Did I ever tell you that he saved my life? Or do you even know how many times he's put Max before him, even if it meant him getting hurt. I don't think you've even tried to understand any of them since you've met them. Not even Max, as long as you spent as her commanding officer. Neither Gazzy nor Iggy sees you as someone they can trust, and mostly because you haven't taken the time to make it seem like you're sincerely interested in helping us. Tell me, why are you here?"

Ramirez fumbled with his words. Ted had taken him off guard. "Well…Mike and Eli are like sons to me. I would never turn down helping them. And for old friends, you and Max."

"Well maybe you ought to rethink things," Ted sounded like he was frowning. "Because as much as we need the help of someone like you, we can also do without someone like you. Now leave Max and Fang alone. She needs rest and so do you. It'll be a long day tomorrow."

Swiftly, Ramirez was on his feet, disappearing towards the front of the plane. Cal made her way down the aisle now and took a seat next to Ted.

"Thanks," Max said to Ted.

But Ted only shook his head. "I'm going to talk to Mike and Eli when we land."

"No, it's alright. Just leave them be," Max insisted. "Ramirez just wants to be on top of things even though he's not in charge. It'll sink in eventually."

Ted hesitated, "Alright."

And that was the end of the conversation. I fell asleep, listening to Iggy's obnoxiously loud music, wondering if there was something more to Ramirez's ignorance.

* * *

**And so I won't lie, but you know, it's getting old how Max and the the partial flock she has, plus Ted, Cal and the others ppls are searching at places where Nudge and Angel are clearly not, so let's just say that IN THE NEAR FUTURE there's actually going to finally be some action and eventually, we shall reach either the reunion of the entire flock, or some kind of tragic demise. Teehee. I'll admit I'm running out of ideas for this one, so the end is starting to be planned and things need to start coming together. Anyways, thanks for reading!**


	56. Chapter 56

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand – Chapter 56**

By MyNameIsCAL

---Nudge's POV---

They moved us outside the city, letting us actually watch the buildings go by. Angel looked out the window of the car sadly. Before we got into the car, Angel told me to enjoy watching.

_This might be the end_, she had said. _Enjoy the ride._

I stared out the window. All the people we passed. How long had it been since we had seen an actual person that wasn't trying to kill us?

_Are we ever going to see Max and the others again?_ I asked.

It took a long time for Angel to respond. _I really don't know, Nudge_.

There was something she wasn't telling me, but I wasn't going to push it.

* * *

---Iggy's POV---

We were driving through the city now, after spending the night sleeping on the plane after it had landed. Gazzy was telling me how Ramirez had crossed the line, accusing Fang of being abusive. Apparently Ted had come to the rescue though and Fang had slept through the whole thing.

"When Max told him later, he only shrugged it off," Gazzy sighed. "And you, with your loud music, missed everything. You're going to go deaf."

"Hah, me deaf?" I laughed. "I have better hearing than all of you."

"Gazzy's rolling his eyes, just so you know," Fang muttered, sounding somewhat amused. He seemed like he was in a better mood than I thought he would be, considering he had just been insulted.

"No I'm not." But Gazzy was sniggering.

Max joined in with laughter. A moment of comic relief. I had to smile.

* * *

---Fang's POV---

The warehouse looked like every other one I had been too. There was nothing here, nothing. Ramirez took the lead, taking us down some stairs. I let out a sigh as I took each step, one by one.

"You alright?" Max asked, steadying me by gripping my arm.

"Yeah, once we get on solid ground I will be."

We continued down the stairs and Ramirez opened the door, letting us all in first.

"Someone find a light," Ramirez muttered.

But when the light was turned on, I came face to face with a person I thought I would never see again. Marian Janssen. Behind her stood Angel and Nudge, handcuffed.

"No one move, or I'll shoot him!" Someone grabbed me from behind. I tried to fight them off, but they jabbed their knee into the back of my bad leg, pushing a gun to the side of my head.

"Well, hello there, Max," Janssen gave us a cruel smile. "It's so good to see you all, finally back together."

"Can we get this over with already?" Ramirez growled. And that's when I realized he was the one pushing the gun to my head.

"Now, now, Ramirez," Janssen frowned. "I think we owe them an explanation, what do you think?"

Mike spoke, almost like a child. "How could you do this to us?"

Ramirez laughed in my ear. "I killed your father. You think I don't live with guilt every day? He was my best friend! But he had to go so things could happen. And things didn't always go the way we wanted."

"Especially with you all getting away from us," Janssen sighed. She had a gun too, but it was pointed at the floor. My heart rate was rising. This wasn't going to end well.

Mike started to shout. "YOU SON OF A BITCH! HOW COULD YOU DO THAT?!"

"It was supposed to be your future," Ramirez snarled. "I was supposed to put you into helping me!! But then things changed and Ted made things complicated. The whole reason I got Max to work with me was to keep an eye on her. I hoped she would attract her other friends, but it was taking too long."

"You betrayed us!" Eli chimed in.

"Oh, shut up and stop whining!" Janssen fired a shot and Eli jumped. The bullet wasn't meant to hit him though.

"Let's kill them now!" Ramirez hissed.

I sucked in a deep breath, trying to calm myself. Max stood next to me, glancing sideways at me. She knew it would be long before I started having a problem.

_Fang, I'm sorry_. Angel's voice suddenly entered my head. I looked up at her. She was crying. Nudge just looked terrified.

_Sorry? I'm seeing you for the first time in years. It's not your fault_, I thought back.

_Gazzy's going to do something_. There was an urgency in the way she said this to me. _And it'll distract everyone, but you need to grab that man's gun that's holding you. Trust me, okay?_

_Alright._

"I say we get rid of the crippled first," Janssen pointed her gun at me. "Tell me something, Fang. Why didn't you look for Max sooner? She risked everything to save you. She only wanted to save you."

"That's not true," I said through gritted teeth.

And that's when Gazzy threw himself at Janssen. Ramirez loosened his grip as a reaction and I elbowed him in the chest, gripping the gun. Gazzy and Janssen were fighting for the gun. Max was now fighting Ramirez. Gazzy needed saving first.

* * *

---Max's POV---

Things had happened so fast. I couldn't keep track of what was going on. Ramirez, for someone who hadn't had their genetics messed with, was a strong guy. He got a couple punches, but I kept him pinned down.

"If only you had cooperated from the beginning!" Ramirez spat. How had I not seen that he was trying to get to me all this time? What was a guy like him doing working for someone like Janssen?

As I hammered one last punch on Ramirez, a series of gunshots went off. That's when things felt like they were going in slow motion.

* * *

**Cliffhanger there for you! Ah, I couldn't help but it leave it like that.**

**If you are looking for something else to read, I've got three new stories up over the past week or so: "Lie Tonight", "Cheating Death", and "Silence". Check it out if you got the chance.**

**But as always, thank you for reading!!**


	57. Chapter 57

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand – Chapter 57**

By MyNameIsCAL

---Fang's POV---

Janssen pointed the gun at me, but Gazzy jumped up, blocking her shot.

"GAZZY!" I screamed. The first shot hit him. I watched him fall to the ground, Angel now screaming.

"FANG!" Was that Max shouting now? The second shot hit me.

"YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR THIS!" And that was Mike. Wait, no, it was Eli. The third shot hit Ramirez.

I fired the fourth shot and it hit Janssen. After that, I hit the ground.

* * *

---Gazzy's POV---

Angel was next to me suddenly. She looked so skinny, so tired.

"Gazzy," she cried.

"It's gonna be okay now," I exhaled. "This'll be all over before you know it."

"Gazzy, stay with me!" she begged.

I gave her one last smile. "I'm glad I got to see you, Angel."

"It wasn't supposed to happen like this," she shook against me.

I closed my eyes.

* * *

---Iggy's POV---

I hadn't a clue what was going on. There were lots of shouting and a lot of gunshots. I almost jumped when I heard the next one. This time, it was Cal screaming out. And then there were two more gunshots.

"Jesus," Barry swore.

"Call Washington." Eli's voice was shaking. "Someone call them and tell them we need help. Lots of help."

"They're never going to believe us," Mike replied.

"Goddamnit, just call them and say that Ramirez got shot and we need help. They don't need to know anything else," Eli roared. "And someone call 911."

* * *

---Max's POV---

Fang stared up at me, looking dazed. I kneeled down, pulling off my jacket to use to press against his wound.

"Max," he grabbed my hand, holding onto it tightly.

"You're gonna be fine," I reassured him.

He wheezed. "Promise me something."

"Anything," I nodded, fighting the tears.

"If I make it out of here," he squeezed my hand tighter. "Will you marry me?"

"Of course, yes," I said, trying to smile at him, "I'll marry you, Fang."

He coughs, trying to smile.

* * *

---Nudge's POV---

I'm in some van, clinging onto Iggy. He explained that the FBI was on our side, that these men with them were their friends. Right now, we were headed to the hospital. Angel had disappeared in an ambulance with Gazzy. Fang and Max were gone too.

"Things are gonna be okay," Iggy said, putting an arm around me.

I closed my eyes. Exhaustion was finally hitting me. But I finally found Iggy, well maybe he found me, but I was finally with him. Feeling safe for what felt like the first time in my life, I let myself drift off to sleep willingly.

* * *

---Max's POV---

Angel was curled up in a ball next to me. She had been crying before. Gazzy's condition was unknown. He had lost more blood than Fang and the paramedics were iffy about telling me how his injuries were looking.

Mike was dealing with the other agents that were coming in and out of the hospital while Eli sat with us, looking disgruntled. He had been betrayed. We had all been betrayed. I wanted to go over to Eli and talk to him, but when Mike had come over to say something, it resulted in a shouting match, Eli in tears and Mike being dragged outside to be calmed down by some other FBI agents.

There was a doctor walking towards us now.

"Is there a Cal Laughlin here?" The doctor cleared his throat.

Cal stood. "That would be me."

"Ted's asking for you," he said. "You can follow me."

She turned to me. "Well, what are you waiting for? C'mon, I know you all don't want to sit here and watch people pass and stare."

The doctor gaped at Cal. "I can't let you all in. It'll…"

"Hey, trust me, Ted's not going to care."

The doctor sighed and allowed us all to follow. Out of all of us, Cal was handling this the best. Now that I thought about it, Cal would have made a really great flock leader.

I carried Angel to Ted's room. Nudge led Iggy by the hand. Mom and Ella were flying into Chicago. They were going to be here in the afternoon hopefully.

"If we hear anything about your other friends," the doctor said, "I'll direct the other doctors here."

"Thank you, Doctor," I said.

He gave me a small smile and left us.

"Teddy!" Cal ran into the room.

Ted smiled. His arm was in a sling, bandaged by the wrist and shoulder. They exchanged some words as the rest of us settled in the room. I put Angel on the couch next to Nudge. Iggy took a seat between them, looking deep in thought, his eyes slipping in and out of focus. Nudge snuggled against him and he put an arm around her, and they muttered a few words to each other. Eli had dragged a chair into the room and now sat in the corner, staring at the floor.

"Max," Ted motioned me over.

I walked to the opposite side of his bed from Cal.

"How are Fang and Gazzy?" he whispered.

I shook my head. "I don't know."

He sighed.

"They're going to be fine." Cal's reassurance even made me feel better.

"I'm really sorry, Max," Ted said anyway.

I shook my head. "I'm sorry too."

* * *

**Thanks for reading! New chapter soon, hopefully!**


	58. Chapter 58

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand – Chapter 58**  
By MyNameIsCAL

-Angel's POV-

Nudge didn't need to know Iggy's in love with Ella. I'll let her have her peace for a while. Max didn't need to know that Gazzy just flat lined on the operating table. He wouldn't tell us for at least another hour though because he had to go help the doctor that was operating on Fang. Besides, she had just finished giving blood for Fang and frankly, she looked like she was going to collapse. No, none of them needed to know anything I knew, like Eli's future and how this would be one of the last times Mike would ever talk to him. The things I saw meant more trying times ahead of us, but I did envision good things. Those things, well, they needed to come in time without them knowing.

I saw a lot of things about everyone, except for Max and Fang. I even saw things about Cal and Ted, and I barely knew them. It wasn't Fang's future that seemed cloudy and it appeared whatever happened to him would probably affect Max. I tended to have flashes of things like this of the future. It would probably be a long time before I saw anything about the future again.

Although I knew that I would never really get to see Gazzy again. I accepted that a long time ago. In a way, I think he knew that too. The fact that I got to talk to him, even for a brief moment, I would be grateful for that much.

"Max, sit down," Ted frowned. "You're gonna pass out. You should be sitting."

She let out a sigh and took a seat between me and Iggy.

"They're gonna be fine," Iggy tried to assure Max. "Before you know it, we'll be out of here and everything will be over. Finally some peace."

If only they knew.

* * *

-Iggy's POV-

Two hours had gone by now since Fang and Gazzy had been taken away to surgery. Max has fallen asleep from exhaustion, slouched over, almost leaning against me now. Nudge was on my other side, already passed out.

"They must know something by now," Cal complained.

Ted spoke tiredly. "Go find Mike and ask him if he's heard anything."

I heard footsteps and the door open and close.

"How bad were their injuries?" Ted asked quietly.

Now that I thought about it, no body every told me.

"Both Fang and Gazzy got shot in the chest," Angel answered.

None of us can think of anything to say to that.

* * *

-Max's POV-

Iggy was shaking me awake. I had fallen sleep.

"Max, the doctor is in here," he whispered.

I sat up, holding my breath as the doctor began to speak.

"I'm Dr. King," he began. "I was an intern here when Nick first came here, so I know about his heart condition. We were able to pull his medical files from Massachusetts. He's doing fine, in the next room over, on a respirator. He's lucky the bullet went through, barely an inch away from his heart, a clean in and out shot. There was a lot of damage. If things heal well, he should be fine. You can see him whenever you'd like."

There was a moment of relief. And then another doctor walked in.

"Gazzy didn't make it," Angel blurted out.

We all stared at her.

The doctor that just walked in let out a deep breath. "I'm sorry. We did all we could. He was a fighter. There was just too much blood lost and too much damage all at once."

"Thank you doctor," Angel said quietly.

The doctors left. Iggy suddenly put his arm around me, awkwardly. I realized I was crying, almost shaking from shock.

"Max," he trembled. "Max, it'll be okay."

I sobbed against Iggy. "Fang's never going to live Gazzy's death down."

Iggy had tears rolling down his cheeks too. "I'm sorry, Max."

When I looked around the room, Angel was the only one not crying. I didn't understand.

* * *

-Fang's POV-

When I gained consciousness, Max was asleep, head rested on the bed, her hand loosely holding mine. There was something similar about this hospital. And then I remembered. This was Chicago.

I squeezed Max's hand. Her eyes fluttered open, gripping my hand.

"Fang," she gave me a small smile.

I can't speak because of the respirator, so Max does the talking.

"You're gonna be in a lot of pain," Max started to explain what happened to me. "The pain medication will only do so much for you. I mean, the bullet was inches from your heart. Let's hope that'll heal nicely. The doctor says take it easy. Dr. Scott sound familiar? Says he knows you can heal fully, but he also knows that the other wounds never really healed."

I closed my eyes. What were the chances this would heal nicely? I'd probably be doomed to a wheelchair for the rest of my life.

"I'm sorry, Fang," Max squeaked. "But you're gonna be fine, okay? The doctor is hopeful. You just gotta, be hopeful too."

I just stared at her.

"You and me, we have to walk down the aisle someday," she added, tears welling up.

We stayed like that for a while, our eyes staring sadly at each other as we cried silently.

* * *

**Thanks for reading. More to come soon.**


	59. Chapter 59

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand – Chapter 59**

By MyNameIsCAL

**I think it was inevitable that someone had to die. So for those of you that were upset about Gazzy's death, I'd like to say I'm sorry. I wasn't going to kill Fang because, well frankly, he's been through enough already. Ted, well, I couldn't do that to Cal. I thought about it too. But perhaps Gazzy's death will play a part later in the story. Ah, you know, I'm rambling again, so enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

-Nudge's POV-

"You knew he was going to die." I confronted Angel in the hallway between the doorways of Ted and Fang's rooms.

She looked down at the floor. "Yeah, I never really thought I'd ever see him. I sort of, you know, just accepted it a long time ago."

And then Angel began to cry.

* * *

-Iggy's POV-

Mom and Ella finally got to the hospital today. Ella greeted me with a hug.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered.

"There was nothing you could do," I told her, squeezing her back.

"Where's Max?" Mom asked.

"With Fang in the next room probably. She hasn't left him," I answered. "Don't talk about Gazzy. We're afraid if we tell him, he might have a heart attack or something. The doctor said the bullet just barely missed his heart."

Mom bit her lip. All of us worried about Fang. She disappeared out the door.

* * *

-Fang's POV-

They've got me drugged to keep me from getting stressed out. I can barely tell reality from dreams, or maybe it's all the same. As far as I can remember, Max hasn't left my side. They won't let me breathe on my own either. She said the doctor wanted to run some tests on me later, or tomorrow.

"Mom is here," I heard her say. Even though she was right next to me, I felt like I was hearing her from miles away.

And then Mom came in, giving me her best smile through tear red eyes.

"How is he?" Mom questioned Max.

"He's alright." Max took my hand. "The doctor says that he's doing well. We're hoping that it'll heal nicely, not like last time."

"Well, that's good," Mom tried to sound encouraging.

I closed my eyes, feeling myself drifting off already. Being drugged like this, I hated it.

* * *

-Max's POV-

The next few days seemed to show Fang was actually recovering like he should. If things went the way we wanted, he could get back to walking someday.

"So in other words," I told him. "It'll be like you never got shot in the chest, meaning the only thing you have to worry about is what you had to worry about before."

"Sounds great," he replied sarcastically.

"C'mon now," I frowned. "You won't be confined to a wheelchair."

But there still seemed to be something else bothering him. "Yeah, I guess so."

I sighed. "I thought you'd be happy to hear that."

Ignoring my comment, he asked, "How's Gazzy doing?"

For the longest time, I had been telling him that Gazzy was fine and not to worry. But Fang was stronger now, breathing on his own, still not fully recovered though.

"He's doing alright," I lied.

Fang stared at me. "Why are you lying, Max?"

I sat down on the bed next to be, taking his hand.

"No…" he whispered.

"Shh, Fang," I tried to keep him calm. "I'm sorry. He never made it out of surgery."

Now he was angry, pushing me away. "Why didn't you tell me! Why have you been lying to me all this time?"

The blips on Fang's monitor started to get faster.

"We were afraid that when you found out, you'd have a heart attack or something," I admitted.

His hand was gripping at his chest. I touched his shoulder, pushing him slowly back towards the bed. He took in a few deep breaths.

"I guess you're right," he muttered, taking my hand back.

"I'm sorry," I repeated.

Fang leaned against me, and cried for a while. After all, it had been Gazzy who had saved him from getting shot the first time. Gazzy had always felt responsible for Fang's suffering after almost killing him that night he found us.

"It's my fault he's dead," Fang whimpered.

"No it's not," I whispered, stroking his hair.

* * *

-Angel's POV-

I knew Fang would fully recover from Janssen's gunshot. As much as Max wanted to protect him, Fang was going to be fine. Well, at least he'd be in the condition he was in before getting shot. When I saw the future, he was walking and doing fine.

I'm not sure if I ever liked knowing things like this. After all, I couldn't prevent them either. It was torture, knowing Gazzy was going to die, but to see him die, that seemed like a slap in the face. But I knew better than to let it get to me. I had to move on and make sure his death wasn't for nothing.

Dr. M has been kind to us, as always. It turned out that Max, Fang, Iggy, and Gazzy had been staying there before they found us. She said we could go back there to live, that she'd take care of us. Nudge was looking forward to that, having a safe place to sleep, and Iggy's cooking. There was no doubt he was heading back there for Ella.

And Max's FBI friends were kind to us. Mike told us he would get us on a plane out of here as soon as Fang could leave. We would be burying Gazzy in Arizona. It seemed like the only place we could really think of putting him. Dr. M's place was the safest place we knew before we all got separated. And in some sense, it was our only home.

But I also knew things weren't going to work out the way people wanted, especially for Max. She'd be the most unhappy about what the future had in store for us. Well, unhappy for a while, but she'd get over it.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Chapter 60 is next! Lots of things to tie up before the end, so the end won't be coming for a while, if any of you were wondering. If you've got any suggestions, comments, or questions, let me know!**

**Anyway, in the next chapter, I'll probably touch with Nudge's feelings about Iggy and Ella. I decided that Fang already has enough problems, so adding another health issue on him wouldn't be very nice of me (yeah, I sound pretty evil, don't I?), which is why he'll recover nicely from being shot by Janssen. And just to clear things up if you're confused, he'll still be worrying about his heart rate and everything that he had to before Janssen shot him. It wouldn't seem very realistic if getting shot again had solved all those things. But I do promise that the future has less suffering for him and more light.**

**Right, I'm rambling again. I probably just confused you more. *sigh* Thanks again!**


	60. Chapter 60

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand – Chapter 60**

By MyNameIsCAL

-Max's POV-

Fang didn't talk much for the next few days. I worried about him, but he would grunt and insist he was fine. There were moments, brief moments, where I would catch him with this look, sadly and deep in thought, probably thinking about Gazzy. When he noticed I was looking, he'd look away from me, his eyes hardening. At least he was healing.

Mom had offered to bring the others home, but Mike, who seemed to be taking charge of the FBI investigation, insisted we all stick together. Ted had been discharged a couple days ago, but he and Cal stuck around, looking after everyone for me. He had convinced Mike to let them get a hotel room a block away. Surprisingly, Eli had retreated to the hotel with them, refusing to help his brother.

I left Fang briefly to pay a visit to the others at the hotel. They seemed to be doing alright there. Ted, Cal, and I sat at the small table, looking out the window to Chicago rain.

"Eli is angry," Ted said, adjusting his sling. "Mike came by the other day and they had a fight. Well, more like a shouting match. It wasn't pretty."

That would explain Mike's bad mood for the past few days. "Exactly what were they fighting about?"

"Mike wanted Eli to help, but Eli said that he didn't want to help, that he was tired of the FBI. He said he was going to quit," Ted answered. "Eli feels betrayed. Mike wants to move on, but Eli isn't ready to."

I thought about how Jeb had betrayed us before. Back then, the idea of letting that get us down hadn't been an option. We had to fight for our survival.

Mom entered the room, looking tired. She took a seat next to me. "Did the doctor tell you when Fang is going to be released?"

"By the end of the week," I told her.

"It'll be good to get back home," Mom smiled. She turned to Ted and Cal. "You're welcomed to come, if you'd like."

Ted gave her a warm smile. "I think I have to get Cal back to college first. But we'll be around, don't you worry."

"You know, Ted and I were thinking of moving out there," Cal added. "Get married out there so you could all come."

"That sounds really great, but you don't have to do that, really," I responded.

"No, really, we gotta get away from the east coast," Ted said. "I'd like to raise our kids away from the place where we were being controlled by some backstabber."

I had to smile at Ted's joke, but somehow hearing that was a relief. After all those years of getting to know Cal and Ted, I would have missed them a lot if they stayed out there.

For a while, we talked about how the investigation was going. Janssen was dead and whoever was working for her were either fleeing the country or trying to hide. Every day they caught someone new trying to get away. Still, it was inevitable that they couldn't get everyone.

And then the conversation turned to Fang.

"How is he?" Cal asked.

"I think Gazzy's death is getting to him." I looked back out the window. "The doctor keeps telling him how great his recovery is, but Fang is just putting himself down."

"Well you tell him that Gazzy wouldn't have wanted him to be like that." Cal always had the right thing to say. "You tell him that he's got a life ahead of him, a life with you."

When I got back to the hospital, sitting next to him in bed, he curled up against me. "I want to go home, Max."

* * *

-Fang's POV-

Like the doctor had promised, I was out of the hospital at the end of the week. After some arguing with Mike, we were now on a private FBI jet heading to Arizona. Max sat next to me, holding my hand. Being in this plane would be the closest I would ever get to flying again.

"Look how beautiful the red rocks are," Max commented, pointing out the window with her other hand.

I looked out, not saying anything.

"Mom's house has a great view of them too," she went on. "I was thinking, we should get married in the backyard. I mean, wouldn't that be a great backdrop?"

"Sure," I mumbled.

She frowned. "What's wrong with you?"

"Max…"I cleared my throat. "Why would you want to marry me? You'll never be able to have kids, you'll never be able to go and fly anywhere, and you'll always have to worry about me."

"So what? Even if I didn't marry you, I'd still have to worry about you."

Well, she had a point.

"Fang, you think I'm going to walk away from you because you think you're not good enough for me?" Max sounded hurt.

"No…I just…" I didn't know how to respond to her. "I'm sorry."

Her head settled on my shoulder and we remained like that for the rest of the flight.

* * *

-Nudge's POV-

I watched Iggy and Ella. She disgusted me. Iggy was supposed to be mine. If it weren't for us getting captured, for Max being in love with Fang, this might have never happened. And yet I still couldn't help feeling sorry for Fang who kept putting himself down. I listened to him tell Max that she shouldn't marry him because he wouldn't be able to do a lot of things. She didn't care about any of that though. She just wanted him, and after all they've been through, it was hard for me not to root for them.

But still, Iggy and Ella's relationship was tearing me apart. How was I going to last with them at Dr. M's house? I thought everything was going to get easier now that the flock was back together, but those years apart had put too much distance between us.

Part of me was starting to think we'd never get back to where we were before.

* * *

**This chapter is pretty much a filler, in all honesty. They just all have to get home and try to, well I guess, move on and work things out with each other. Of course, things will get complicated again. But I believe there are some weddings in the future to be seen, some happiness to restore, and some pain to relieve. I've got ideas, things planned out, but they need to be eased into. **

**The next couple of chapters will pick up some action again, hopefully. Thank you for reading and for your patience.**


	61. Chapter 61

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand – Chapter 61**

By MyNameIsCAL

-Iggy's POV-

Angel had this crazy idea that we were going to cremate Gazzy. You know, sort of his last blaze of glory before he left us for good. It seemed right though, so we did.

"When Fang is better," Angel said. "We'll go and fly for a while and scatter his ashes. He'd like that, I think."

It was her brother, we weren't going to argue with her.

"He'll be okay, I promise," she said in a daze, staring out the window. "Wherever he is, he's alright."

And I wondered if she was just saying that because she was trying to reassure herself and us, but part of me still wondered if she knew more than we actually did, more than we would ever understand.

* * *

-Fang's POV-

Being with the flock, minus Gazzy, wasn't the same as it had been before. There was something that I felt was still holding us apart, like there was an invisible barrier dividing us. It was easy to see that Nudge was upset with Iggy and Ella's relationship. I tried not to be bitter, and Max tried to keep me happy, but it would be a while before I got over what happened to me. The only people that really seemed to be fine were Angel and Iggy. Seeing Angel get over Gazzy so quickly, I almost felt jealous.

The days seemed to drag on at Mom's house, but I guess I was happy to be out of the hospital too. Iggy cooked for us, so for those few hours we spent around the kitchen table, it seemed like we had all forgotten about what was bothering us. You could tell people needed the distraction because we could sit for hours around our empty plates, trying to hold a conversation about nothing. And one day, I grew tired of it, so I retreated to the TV room. Max followed me eventually, taking a seat next to me. It was almost automatic that my arm came around her as her head leaned against me. I guess the one thing that I'd actually manage to settle into was our relationship.

Max had been persistent too, trying to convince me that there was nothing wrong with me. Our talk before bed usually included talking about wedding plans. Well, it was more of a monologue for Max, as I would lay there listening. Part of me resisted wanting that, knowing that Max would have to spend the rest of her life looking after me, but the truth was, I needed someone like Max to do that, someone who cared for me, someone who actually loved me no matter what.

And so I'd give in to her talk.

"I think having our wedding here in the backyard is a nice idea," I said after a while, lowering the volume of the TV.

She looked surprised that I would bring this up first.

"Help me up. Let's go outside," I murmured.

Max stood, pulling me off the couch. I unsteadily walked towards the door. My leg, it felt better than it had been when Max and Ted first found me. That seemed to be a good thing, in all this pain I was in. She had her hand around my arm, but after I gained my balance, she let go.

"Well you can walk, that's for sure," she smiled.

I held the door open for her.

We stood outside, the stars above us. I unfurled my wings, stretching them in what seemed like an eternity. I took her hand.

"C'mon, the roof, I can make it up there," I whispered.

* * *

-Max's POV-

My landing was more graceful than Fang's, but his leg, that seemed to have better days now, gave him trouble with landing. How long had it been since he had even flew two feet in the air? Maybe that time he saved Ted.

He looked down at his heart rate monitor, but his expression gave nothing away. We lay down next to each other, staring up at the sky. I listened to his breathing, quicker than usual, until it slowed back to normal.

"The stars, you can see them here," he breathed out. "It's not like Chicago."

His hand was planted on his chest, massaging almost absentmindedly. I learned not to worry about that too much.

"They remind me of you," he continued.

"Do they?" I asked, closing my eyes.

He took my hand, but gave me no explanation. I wanted to ask, but he started to talk again.

"When are Ted and Cal going to come?" he questioned.

"When Cal's school finishes. The end of next month," I told him. "They want to move out here, get married so we can all go to the wedding."

"That would be nice," he said quietly.

And we lay on the roof like that for a few more hours, whatever that was going on down below us forgotten.


	62. Chapter 62

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand – Chapter 62**

By MyNameIsCAL

-Angel's POV-

There was light, finally, at the end of this depressing tunnel we had been trudging through. Max and Fang were finally getting married. I don't why, but it made me happy, even if Max's feelings for him had put us in danger and had caused Gazzy to get hurt, it still made me smile. You could tell they were happy too.

Fang stood, weight on one leg, reading a piece of paper, probably his wedding vows. It was a cool day for the desert, but he still liked he was sweating. There was something almost grand about Fang being in a tuxedo. I couldn't wait to see how he would react when he saw Max in her dress.

Everyone was here. Well, not everyone, but everyone we knew. Mike and Eli had just arrived, but separately. Ted and Cal had been staying here for a few days and Dr. M had offered to let them stay until they found a house or apartment to by. Then there was Chuck and Kerry, making conversation with Iggy who had his arm draped around Ella. That probably made Nudge furious.

Speaking of Nudge, she came over and took a seat next to me.

"I don't understand how you can go on smiling," Nudge muttered, crossing her arms.

"You're just upset that you didn't get Iggy," I replied.

"But you're not even upset that Max and Fang are getting what they want even though Gazzy is dead!" Nudge exclaimed.

"I'll tell you the truth," I frowned. "Iggy doesn't like you the way you like him. You're just like a sister to him."

She sighed. "I wish it weren't that way."

There was no changing her mind about the way she felt.

* * *

-Max's POV-

I walked out of the house, Mom by my side. Fang waited by the makeshift altar, trying his best to stand up straight. A smile grew on his face as he saw me. Iggy had somehow been put in charge of the music, which was now some guitar version of what was supposed to be a wedding march. He had a smug look on his face, Ella looking very amused.

When I reached the altar, Fang gave me a grin, shifting his weight onto his good leg.

The officiate began. "Today we are here to celebrate the marriage of Max and Fang. Through their many years, they have grown to know each other, love each other, and have no decided to commit to be husband and wife."

I almost laughed. Mom had just gotten this guy to do the ceremony very last minute. I'm pretty sure it sounded like he said the same thing at every wedding. He rambled on some more about marriage. Fang, I realized, looked very uncomfortable now.

When the exchanging of the vows came, Fang took a few stiff steps forward, taking the ring from Iggy.

"So do you, Fang,, take Max to be your wife, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness in health?"

"The past few years have been hard," he started, taking my hand. "And even now, I still have my faults. But Max, now that we're here, I know that you'll always be by my side and I'll be by yours. Without you, I'd be lost. So Max, I love you, and I always will, for the rest of my life. So today, I do take you to be my wife, for better or worse, in sickness and health, I do."

He slipped the ring on my finger and the officiate, repeating what he had said to Fang except with my name, waited for my response.

"I do," I breathed out, taking Fang's hand now. "And whatever's ahead of us, I'm grateful to know that you'll be there with me, that we'll be there for each other. And…"

Oh, jeez. I was crying now. Instead of trying to force myself to continue, I slipped the ring onto his finger and he gave me a smile, his eyes teary too.

The officiate closed the book he was holding. "You may now kiss the bride."

More naturally, Fang wrapped his arms around me and kissed me deeply. There was a warm round of applause and as he drew away, I had to steady him. We all smiled and laugh, Fang took my hand, and we made our way down the makeshift aisle through the chairs and back into the house.

* * *

-Fang's POV-

Later that night, Max and I escaped to the roof. Her head was against my chest, listening to my heart beat. It had been up and down all day, tiring me out.

"I'm sorry I didn't plan a honeymoon or something," I said quietly.

She put her arm across me, smiling. "I wouldn't have chosen any other place but to be here on this roof with you."

I closed my eyes, feeling a smile back growing. "I love you, Max."

"I love you too, Fang."

PAGE BREAK!

-Nudge's POV-

Time, it went by after Max and Fang got married. Suddenly Iggy and Ella decided that they were going to get married too. That was crushing. I cried myself to sleep that night he asked her during dinner. Before we knew it, Cal and Ted were trying to get their own wedding together after they just moved to a house nearby.

Everyone seemed so happy, but I just felt miserable.

"Would you miss me if I left?" I asked Angel.

She blinked at me. "Of course I would."

I thought for a moment. "Okay."

"Well, you're not really thinking of leaving, are you?" Angel asked, but I'm pretty sure she could have figured out the answer by herself.

I shrugged, walking away. "Maybe."


	63. Chapter 63

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand – Chapter 63**

By MyNameIsCAL

-Fang's POV-

I lay in bed with Max one night. The rest of the house was awake, but I was tired and Max had no desire to be around the others without me. They were all honestly stressing me out.

"Iggy and Ella," Max muttered, her arms coming around me. "I mean, it was a little fast, don't you think?"

"I guess so," I agreed.

She let out a sigh. "I guess we'll see what happens."

"I guess so," I found myself repeating. "You know, we should get away for a while, from all of this."

"And where would we go?" she questioned.

"Anywhere," I whispered in her ear.

Suddenly, I was kissing her and she was kissing me back. I don't really remember how or why or what had compelled us to do that. Everything happened so fast. Max was pulling my shirt off as we became tangled in the blankets.

"Wait, Fang," Max grabbed me by the arms.

"Shit," I growled, rolling off of her, trying to suck in deep breaths.

For a while, we lay in silence, listening to the beeping of my heart rate monitor.

"I'm sorry," Max breathed out. "I…I…"

"Shhh, it's not your fault," I said, letting her settle back against me as we had been before.

The rest of the house seemed to have settled. There was no more talking from the kitchen, the shower upstairs wasn't running anymore. It seemed more quiet than usual. Iggy wasn't snoring tonight, but then I tried to focus and I could hear him and Ella talking, but I wasn't able to make out what they were saying. It wasn't my business to know what they were talking about anyway.

"I'm sorry." It was my turn to apologize now to Max.

"Why?" Even in the darkness I could tell she was frowning. "It's not a big deal, Fang."

I opened and closed my mouth a few times, wanting to say more, but she put a finger to my lips. "Fang, don't let stuff like that get to you, okay? I know you're going to spend all night thinking about it, and the more you think about it, the more guilty you feel even though you don't need to feel guilty."

Max was totally right.

I said nothing as she fixed the blankets and pulled them over us.

"Goodnight, Fang," she whispered, kissing my cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too, Max."

* * *

-Iggy's POV-

It was simple. Ella and I, well, getting married hadn't really been planned. I mean, yeah, we talked about it, and we were going to wait, take things slow, until the time came when we felt it was right. But this. Well this, it just sped up everything.

It had been a week ago now I guess, when Ella had came into the room, rambling almost faster than Nudge, and I couldn't make out a word she was saying.

"What's wrong?" I had asked.

And she stopped for a moment, sucked in a break, let it out, and flat out said, "Iggy, I'm pregnant."

Well, I didn't know what I was going to do then, and I guess the first thing I thought of was how to make everything right, before the others could freak out, you know? Because we were trying ourselves not to freak out.

"Well, I guess everything's gotta happen sooner," Ella told me.

"But it's what we wanted," I assured her. "Everything will be great."

And with that, we decided to get married.

* * *

-Max's POV-

There was something wrong. Not between Fang and me, but with everyone else. I got this off feeling about something. I'm not sure if it was because things just seemed to be spiraling forward so fast, or if it was because Fang and I had found solid ground and everyone else was still trying to find something flat to stand on.

"Next month will be fun," Fang said sarcastically with that half smile of his. "Two weddings."

I sighed. "I don't know why Iggy and Ella are in such a rush."

He shrugged and hobbled to the dresser, trying to find something to wear.

"BREAKFAST!" Iggy shouted from the kitchen.

Fang pulled on a shirt and put his arm around me with a smile, using me to aid him down the hall.

"Good morning," Angel said brightly. Out of all of us, she seemed to be the happiest, almost surprisingly. But you always got this feeling from her that she knew more than you did, and she wasn't going to give what was going to happen away.

"Morning," Fang yawned as he sat down.

I took the seat next to him and Angel took the one next to me. For now, things seemed normal, but as breakfast went on, you could tell Angel was preoccupied about something. She knew I was wondering about it too because if she wanted to tell me, she would have invaded my head already.

* * *

**Well, thanks for reading. And sort of as an epiphany, I just finished writing the end for this story too. But there are a lot of gaps to fill in between here and the end, so there'll be a few more chapters. I have to say, writing that ending was bittersweet. **

**Well, I'll have the next chapter soon. I'm thinking maybe two or three more before I give you that ending. I think you'll like the ending, just maybe. **


	64. Chapter 64

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand – Chapter 64**

By MyNameIsCAL

-Nudge's POV-

"I'm leaving."

Max stared at me. "Leaving?"

"Gazzy is gone, Max, and Iggy has Ella," I told her. "There's nothing left for me here. I'm going."

"And what am I supposed to tell Iggy and Ella when they get back? That you just left because they got married?" Max shook her head. "You can't leave. Where are you going to go?"

"Anywhere but here," I said, picking up my back of the few things I did have.

"No, please don't go," Max said, but Fang grabbed her by the arm.

"Fang, what are you doing?" Max said, shaking him free.

I gave Max and hug. "I'll call you, I promise."

She hugged me back. "Please, don't go."

But no amount of begging was going to stop me. I had told Angel I was going to leave, but I think she knew all along, like she knew about Gazzy's death. It was a gift and a burden to know the future. Angel handled it so well though.

As I started down the hall, Max still begged me to stay. Fang put his arms around Max, restraining her from going after me.

"Let her go, Max, let her go," he said.

And then I was gone, unfurling my wings, and taking off into the sky, for the first time alone instead of the flock. But that day we had been separated was the day the flock ceased to exist, when priorities got mixed with emotions causing everything to fall apart. Or at least that's what I thought as I flew away from Max.

* * *

-Max's POV-

"We have to go after her!" I said as Fang held me back.

"No, we don't," he said in a low growl. "She'll be fine. Angel told me. And she told me not to let you go after her."

"Why is that?" I shouted, pushing him away.

He leaned back against the wall, his eyes searching for what to say. "Because things are going to happen, Max, and we can't stop them."

"Where is Angel?" I questioned.

"With Mom," he answered.

His eyes met mine. Before I knew it, I was crying against him, his arms around me. He said nothing, mostly because there was nothing really to say. And there we stood for a while, in the empty house, together like that.

"This is my fault," I whimpered.

Fang dropped his chin to my shoulder. "We can go on forever pointing fingers at each other, Max. Even if you had chosen to save Angel and Nudge, we'd all end up hurt in the end."

But I only started to cry harder. In fact the only reason Fang stood before me now was because I had saved him. Even though Angel had told me Nudge and her would be okay, Nudge didn't see it that way. I had ruined her relationship with Iggy, even though he didn't see her as someone he could be romantically involved with, and Gazzy, she just saw him as another casualty of my love for Fang.

"Max, it's not your fault," he said quietly.

* * *

-Fang's POV-

Max was curled up against me as we lay in bed. The house seemed empty now without Nudge, especially since Ella and Iggy were off on their honeymoon. Once they got back, we would be off to Ted and Cal's wedding. But I was tired, and Max, well she just seemed so unhappy right now, that it was hard for me to want to push forward.

We had skipped dinner, mostly because the idea of sitting at a half empty table was too hard for us to wrap our heads around. I knew Nudge was going. Angel told me, and she told me to keep Max from going after her, so I did, but I wondered if it would have made a difference if I had stopped Max or not.

"Maybe they all hate me," Max said.

I frowned. "Max, they don't hate you. Nudge is just upset. She needs time to be on her own."

She held onto my arm. "Promise me you won't take off, that you won't leave me."

"I won't leave you," I said, finding her hand. "I left once. I'll never do it again, I promise."

But I knew Max wasn't thinking straight. Just because Nudge was gone didn't mean everyone was just going to up and leave all of a sudden. As strong as I knew Max was, I also knew that when it came to the flock, emotions got to her.

"Sleep now," I whispered, stroking her hair. "Things will be better in the morning."

"Alright," she said quietly, like a little child, and she rested her head on my chest, listening to my heartbeat and she drifted off.

* * *

-Angel's POV-

Nudge left. I knew she would. But she had to because being here would only make her miserable. I told Fang to stop Max from going after her, and he had done his job, but it also hurt him too.

There would still be more for them to get through, for everyone to get through. After all of that, though, everyone would find their own peace.


	65. Chapter 65

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand – Chapter 65**

By MyNameIsCAL

-Max's POV-

Ted and Cal's wedding was amazing, almost as amazing as they were amazing people, but it was hard to smile and feel like we were enjoying ourselves ever since Nudge had left. Fang even pulled me onto the dance floor this time, trying to distract me from thinking. I rested my head against him as we moved around in a slow circle.

"Don't hurt yourself for me," I muttered, closing my eyes.

Fang squeezed me a little closer, a smile growing on his face. "I'm not, and even if I was, I wouldn't tell you so."

He always seemed to have the right thing to say, and I smiled into his shoulder, watching Iggy and Ella sit in the corner, talking quietly to themselves. Ella caught my eye and gave me a smile.

After a while, Fang was starting to lose strength, now leaning on me instead of me leaning on him. I took his hand, and with some reluctance, he followed me to the tables set up outside. Chuck and Barry were sitting at the far table, kissing in the moonlight, thinking that nobody was watching. We slipped past them and down to the garden that the whole place overlooked. Some of the finest grass you'd ever find in Arizona. There was a bench just a little farther down the path and Fang practically collapsed into it.

"You should have said something before," I murmured, leaning against him, listening to his quickened heartbeat.

"I think you need to stop worrying," he said, putting an arm around me.

His eyes closed after a while, and I could hear his heart rate slow.

"Max?" he muttered.

"Mmm?" I replied, taking his hand."

"I love you."

"I love you too, Fang."

* * *

-Angel's POV-

I didn't like knowing things, honestly. But you know, it was hard for me not to listen. I was sitting at a table, alone. Max and Fang had just gone to the garden, probably trying to get away so he could relax. I knew she cared for him, and worried maybe a little bit too much. Mike and Eli had just taken a seat at the table behind me, and I rested my head on my arms, pretending to be asleep.

"Why do we have to talk about this now?" Eli asked.

"Because I need to tell them tomorrow," Mike said, his voice harsh, almost angry.

"I told you, I'm saying no. I can't go back." Eli's voice shook. He sounded terrified and I knew they had to be talking about going back to work.

"But I need you to come back." Mike slammed his hand on the table. "What the hell are you so afraid of?"

Eli stood, his chair being pushed back and hitting the table behind him. "People like Ramirez and people like you."

I watched Eli run past me, looking like he was going to cry. Mike, on the other hand, stomped after him.

"Mike, don't pushed him," I called after him.

He turned and stared at me, snarling, "What do you know?"

"More than you can imagine."

And then he was off again.

* * *

-Fang's POV-

"Don't hurt yourself," Ted warned.

We were moving furniture around in his house. He had just gotten back from his honeymoon with Cal a couple days ago. Max wanted to help move the couch, but I couldn't let her, that just wouldn't be right, especially since Ted kept insisting that Cal just sit and relax.

"Fang, I mean it, if you need to stop, we'll stop," he went on.

I sucked in a breath. "Nah, I'm fine."

Besides, we were almost there. But breathing, it was starting to get hard, and I could hear my monitor start to beep. We set the couch down in its place and I collapsed onto it.

"Fang," Max kneeled down next to me. "Fang, are you okay?"

"Fine…" But I knew that was a lie.

"C'mon, deep breaths," she said.

And that's when I panicked.

"Shit," I heard Cal swear. "I'll call 911."

"Fang!" Max grabbed me by the shoulders. "Look me in the eye. You're going to be okay."

* * *

-Max's POV-

Fang was stubborn, but he was stubborn like me and we both understood that about each other. He looked tired when the doctor finally let me go in to visit him. Ted and Cal had waited all night with me and they waited outside, urging me to go in.

"Well," Fang breathed out. "That was incredibly stupid of me."

I took his hand.

"Max, please don't cry," he said, pulling me into the bed, next to him.

But I cried anyway, into his shoulder, and he rubbed my back, trying to comfort me.

"I'm…I'm just glad you're okay," I sobbed.

He kissed my forehead. "Me too."

* * *

**I'll update the next chapter probably around Saturday of next week. I'm going away for 5 days, so I won't have any internet where I am. Oh, but I have written the last couple of chapters after this one, and then there's the end. It's hard to see this fanfic go, but I think it's gone on long enough and it's starting to lose focus.**

**Thanks for reading!  
**


	66. Chapter 66

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand – Chapter 66**

By MyNameIsCAL

-Angel's POV-

Fang returned home a few days later, and I knew that was for the better, even though the doctor had suggested he should stay. Today, they would be hit by another blow. One that I wished I could have stopped, but I knew that there was no way to stop it.

"No, Fang, sit!" Max said, exasperated. "I know, you're probably fine, but it would make me feel a whole lot better if you just sat and relaxed, okay? I'll get you water, just sit."

Fang held up his hands and limped towards the couch, sitting down.

Iggy came down the stairs, grabbing a soda, and sat on the couch next to Fang.

"Whoa, hey, you're home!" Iggy laughed, elbowing Fang.

Fang looked annoyed, moving a few inches away from him.

"Well, guess what guys," Iggy said, chugging half of his soda.

"What?" Fang grumbled.

He had a grin stretched across his face now. "Ella and I are going to be parents."

Fang went wide eyed. "What?"

"You heard me right," Iggy said, elbowing Fang again. "You're gonna be an uncle!"

But Fang, I knew he wasn't stupid.

"Iggy, is that why you two were in such a rush to get married?"

Iggy's smile was wiped from his face. "What does that matter?"

But Fang, somehow gracious with what he had to say, "It doesn't, I was just wondering."

The celebration would be short lived, in more ways than one, about Iggy and Ella's baby on the way. That wasn't the blow I was talking about. What was going to hit them was now only a few hours away.

* * *

-Fang's POV-

I was exhausted. Coming home to Iggy announcing his news had been, well, tiring because that got the entire house all riled up. Ted and Cal had even come over for dinner. They were all gone now and I sat in the kitchen alone, waiting for Max to come help me to the bedroom.

"Oh, sorry to keep you waiting," she muttered, taking my arm and putting it around her shoulders. "I got caught up talking to Cal and Ted before they left. They're still apologizing about you having your heart attack."

I tried to support some of my own weight. "I'm alright. It's not the end of the world."

Just as we reached the bedroom, the phone rang. She left me on the bed, rushing to go pick it up. I slid my shoes and socks off, pulling off my shirt and pulling on a t-shirt she had left out for me.

It took a long time for Max to come back into the room. When she did, she was in tears.

"Eli is dead," she said in a whisper, like if she said it too loud, we too would be hurt.

She cried herself to sleep, sobbing into my chest.

* * *

-Angel's POV-

Mike was too selfish and had too much pride to admit he was the reason that Eli killed himself. And there was no guilt as I read his thoughts. We attended the wake and the funeral, watching Eli's casket get lowered next to his father's, a man who could have been saved if only Ramirez had been stopped. And then again, if Ramirez had been stopped, we would have all been saved from getting hurt.

As I watched Mike watch the coffin go down tearlessly, I knew that someday, this would be the reason Mike would make his way up in the FBI. Unlike Mike, Eli, maybe in another lifetime, would have been great as part of our family.

"C'mon, let's go," Fang muttered, putting his arm around Max. "Do you want to stop somewhere to get food before we go home?"

Max nodded, trying to hold back her tears. I followed them in silence. Someday, I would tell them that I knew everything that was going to happen. Someday.

* * *

**A short chapter before the end. Thanks for reading. **


	67. Chapter 67

**The Disbanded: Divided We Stand – Chapter 67**

By MyNameIsCAL

-Fang's POV-

"Where did the time go?" Max touched the side of my head.

"What do you mean?"

"Your hair is graying," she whispered.

I put my hand over hers. "Is it?"

She laughed. "Yeah, it is."

I frowned.

"What are you so upset about?"

"Nothing," I grumbled, pulling her into a hug.

Considering everything we've been through, all the time that's passed, for us, we looked younger than we actually were. I guess that was a good thing, and that we hadn't suddenly expired like Ari did, that we still had each other to hold onto. We were incredibly lucky, now that I think about it. The heart attack I had at Ted's place, whenever that came up, usually when sitting on the couch at Ted's couch, Cal would laugh about it, and I would too because, well I had been stubborn back then. Ted still seems embarrassed though and Max, well, she'd get this look of uncertainty, but still laugh along anyway.

Besides that heart attack , I had another one trying to fly. I had been angry, trying to prove something only to myself. Max had to stop me from falling from the sky. She had been so angry after that, even though she tried not to show it. Unlike the one at Ted's house, we never talked about that after she forgave me. After all, that time almost killed me. It was only brought up was when she scolded me for pushing myself. But other than that, things had been smooth for us.

As for Iggy and Ella, their marriage fell apart a few years after the birth of their son, who they graciously named after Gazzy. Iggy lived with Max and me, seeing as he'd probably go crazy being blind and alone. Ella lived about an hour away and brought their son over on the weekends. Sometimes, I swear, you would wish Iggy and Ella would get back together. There were nights where it seemed like old times, like they were still in love, but you knew it would never happen.

Nudge was, well, she was bitter I guess. Iggy and her tried out a relationship for a while, but Iggy wasn't comfortable because, to him, she'd always be his little sister. Still, he humored her and went places with her every now and then.

Mom still had the animals to keep care of. She would be retiring soon and Angel would take up her job and look after the place. Angel was excited about that, living with Mom and keeping her company. It was nice. The only thing that bothered me about Angel was when one night, she confessed to Max and me that she knew everything that was going to happen. That Iggy would marry Ella, and Nudge still wouldn't get Iggy after the divorce. Max got upset, but there was nothing you could do. Angel was always right, after all.

As for Ted and Cal, they're happily together still, just down the street, another kid on the way. Their first daughter, Anna, is beautiful. She's always got a smile on, running up to us, shouting Uncle and Aunt. It's nice to have them around, even Iggy's kid, it gives Max the chance to be around them, since we couldn't have kids of our own.

Mike was some big shot now, having worked his way up to be where Ramirez was. We didn't talk to him much since Angel had told us it had been him who pushed Eli into taking his life. It was hard to think about now still. I tried not to let it cross my mind too much.

On a happier note, Chuck and Barry moved to a state that allowed gay couples to marry. They quit their jobs and the last time they sent us a postcard, it was from Italy.

There were few occasions that the flock and everyone got together. Usually Christmas, New Years, and on a rare occasion, we'd assemble on Mom's request. When we were together, we tried to get along, but Nudge was always the first to go. Today, Iggy had the grill on, Ella by his side as they laughed, their troubled past forgotten for a few hours. She leaned into him, laughing and laughing, he kissed her forehead and for a moment, they smiled at each other.

The kids are running around, Ted and Cal playing along with them. Angel is talking to Nudge, and she gets Nudge to smile a couple of times. Mom is trying to set the table, get the food set out, but it would still be another hour before we could get everyone to settle.

As for Max and me, we take a seat after coming out of the house, my leg feeling more stiff now that I've gotten older. She pulls out a chair for me before getting her own. As an unconscious thought, I rub my leg, and she takes my hand, distracting me from a different kind of pain that was starting to grow.

"I'm sorry we didn't have kids," I said, letting her lean against me.

She shakes her head. "You're still upset about that?"

I put my arm around her, sighing. "I don't know, I just want you to be happy."

"I am happy," she assures me. "I couldn't be any happier."

I let that sink in for a while. It's not the first time we've had this conversation. I'm always worrying about things like this and Max, well, she's just the greatest letting them slide, trying to assure me things will be alright.

Anna comes running over, plopping down on my lap. I let out an _ooof_ and Ted comes running over.

"It's alright," I insist, waving a hand in the air.

"Uncle Fang, why don't you ever play with us?" Anna asks, tugging at my shirt. In her other hand, there's the ball they were using to play catch.

I give her a sad smile, looking down at her.

"Uncle Fang…" Ted began, but I interrupted him.

"Alright, let's go play," I say, getting out of the chair.

Max watches me, looking concerned, but Cal gives me this huge grin, and for a while, we're running around, or hobbling for me, as we throw the ball around. As Iggy and Mom call us for food, you can hear the beeping from my heart rate monitor.

"I'm alright," I assure Max, sitting next to her.

The kids are happy, and Max, after seeing I really am okay, puts on a smile. For tonight, we'll forget the past and live in the present. As for the future, well, maybe Angel knows about that, but me, well, I'll be fine about not knowing, as long as I have Max.

* * *

**I wrote this ending in advance, and honestly, I think this story got dragged out a little longer than it needed to be. When I started this, three years ago, it was only the second fanficiton I had ever written. Seeing it go, in a way, is saddening, but it is also a relief that I will no longer feel lost writing this. Tomorrow I will be embarking on a journey back home, but it was three years ago here, where I am now in Hong Kong that I began writing this story along with my very first fanfic "Love, Pain, and Wings". It feels right to be leaving you with this chapter before I depart back to the US.  
**

**I apologize for those of you who wanted things to turn out better, but I had to stay true to the title and the way I wanted things to play out. The flock broke apart, and when they found each other, they tried to stay together, tried to push on, and well, it just didn't work out. But before they were reunited, it was inevitable that things wouldn't just go back to being okay because fairytale endings, I just can't stand them. And as I think about the future of my other stories, I've always gotten caught up in worrying about what you, the reader, would think of my story, and sometimes you have to draw a line. You have to write you feel is best, not always what people want. As you know, I have many other stories. In fact when I get back home, I will most likely be putting up a new story. So look out for that.  
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**Things, I know, moved fast at the end. Probably too fast for your liking and definitely too fast for my liking. And I could have written ten more chapters, in fact, I had a lot more planned, but it was time to put this story to rest and move on to my other ones. Perhaps, in the future, I'll look back at this one and pick it up again and make a sequel, or some sort of new story to explain something better. But for now, I'm done with this, and I thank you for taking this ride with me.**

**}MyNameIsCAL{**


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